Summer Hunger
Aaron and Ashley Bayliss-White are a self-described “working-class family.” Aaron is a school bus driver for the Sumner, Washington, school district, and Ashley is a stay-at-home mom who also volunteers for a foster family organization. Their family includes five school-aged children, three of whom are biological and two of whom are adopted. Even though they own their own home and Aaron has a good job, he says money is still tight.
“You go through life, and you start off at the bottom of the pole, you work your way up, and you expect not to struggle your whole life, and when you go from making $5 hour to making $30 an hour, you expect you’d be little better off than you are. And you’re just not.”
“Before Covid, we were struggling, but we were able to keep food in the fridge. We were not struggling like we are now.”
All five of the Bayliss-White kids receive free and/or reduced meals at school. However, during summer vacation, those meals are gone, leaving families like Ashley and Aaron’s to try and figure out how to replace those 600 missing meals. Last Summer, the family made it through by carefully using the last of their Covid SNAP benefits.
“We were able to really stock up on things because we knew it wouldn’t last, and my husband was sure food prices were going to go up”, says Ashley. “I don’t know what we’re going to do this summer. Because our COVID money is gone.”
The Bayliss-White family is not alone. Every year, more than 375,00 children in Western Washington receive free and/or reduced meals at school. This represents nearly one-half of all students across 17 counties. This means families must replace roughly 120 meals per child over the Summer. Not an easy lift. Especially when you have teenagers.
“Anything we buy is gone instantly,” says Aaron. “They eat a lot. And much more during the summer when they’re home.”
Aaron says making ends meet is even harder with inflation and sky-high grocery costs.
“Everything is so expensive anymore. What used to get you a cart of food, today it barely gets you a half cart.”
And that’s not the only challenge.
“Kids are picky eaters”, Aaron says. “You can’t just buy anything; you have to buy things that you know kids are going to like.”
Shopping has become so stressful that Ashley turns the duties over to her husband.
“I can’t do grocery shopping. It gives me anxiety. Our budget is only $150 a week. That’s really all we have. So, Aaron does the shopping.”
While the family qualifies for EBT, their monthly benefit is a mere $7. To help make ends meet, they rely on “The Market,” a Bonney Lake food bank run by the Good Roots organization. There, they find critical foods such as eggs, milk, and breakfast cereals.
“The food bank has gotten Aaron and me out of a lot of tight spots”, says Ashley.
Aaron agrees.
“It gives us a bit of a break. It gives us the ability to know that there’s always something that we’ll be able to grab extra, that we can work into a meal.”
Food banks feel added pressure during the summer months, with parents hoping to find the foods that will bridge the gap until school is back in session.
The West Seattle Food Bank serves hundreds of families every month. These families are wrestling with tough choices, like whether to buy groceries or pay a utility bill. The staff here understand these challenges, and they work every year to make as much food available to as many families as possible.
“In the summer months, having the kids home all day can put a lot of extra pressure on the family food budget,” says Karla Marfjeren, Program Manager at West Seattle Food Bank. “With so many parents working during the day to keep the basics covered, we try to have items on our shelves that kids can prepare for themselves. We also help share the information about local summer meal sites, where students can get weekday meals and snacks.”
In addition to local food banks ramping up during the summer months, families will now get a little extra help from the Department of Agriculture and the State of Washington. This year, Washington families who qualify for EBT will also receive “Sun Bucks”. For every child, families will receive an additional $120 in benefits. This program was made possible by the efforts of school districts, anti-hunger groups like Food Lifeline, and an entire community that sees the need to ensure children receive nutritious food, even when the school bell rings for the last time.
Ashley isn’t sure what the financial future holds, but she’s determined to make it work.
“I don’t know how we’re doing it; we’re just doing it.”