Wins in Olympia for Hunger Relief
The 2019 Washington state legislative session wrapped up last week with many wins to report! We were pleased that hunger, poverty, and equity issues were prominent throughout the session.
Thanks to hard work by Food Lifeline’s advocacy team and other partners, Food Lifeline’s policy platform and legislative agenda framed the work with legislative champions that delivered wins in almost every place we had hoped.
Some “hunger fighting” wins we want to highlight include a significant state investment to continue the fruits and vegetables incentives in the Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive program and several measures that focus on school meals, the statewide food system goals, and state nutrition programs. And, the legislature adopted a goal of reducing wasted food by 50 percent by the year 2030.
State lawmakers also made big investments and reforms in affordable housing, mental health, and health care. Legislation supporting immigrant protections, the creation of a state equity office, and help for the state’s most in-need were also passed.
The aim of Food Lifeline’s advocacy work is to make fighting hunger a top legislative priority. Stay tuned for a complete recap of the state session’s accomplishments.