Latest Food Insecurity Report: Over Half of Households Relied on Food Assistance
Food Banks, SNAP, and School Meals Most Utilized Forms of Food Assistance.
Since the summer of 2020, UW and WSU have partnered to examine changes in food insecurity and food assistance in Washington State households as Washingtonians continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and high inflation persists. Read here.
The latest research finding (February 2025), which over-sampled households with lower incomes, shows food insecurity remained high with over half of households experiencing food insecurity. Food insecurity was higher in households with respondents identifying as Black (77%) or Hispanic (70%), households with children (68%), households with incomes <$15,000K (82%), and renters (61%).
Food assistance use was high across the state, with more than half of respondents (55%) using at least one type of food assistance in the past month. Food price increases were felt by everyone, with more than half very concerned about price increases. Households experiencing food insecurity reported greater concern about price increases, as well as worse overall financial outlooks and more financial stress. To cope with price increases, nearly three quarters of food insecure respondents reported restricting the quality and quantity of food.