What actions would you take as a state legislator to protect and strengthen Washington’s food security safety net, including both public nutrition programs and the food banks and food pantries serving communities across the state?

I have long believed that hunger is a public responsibility, not something we can ask charitable food banks to solve on their own. I have worked for years on policies that strengthen food assistance, support food banks and pantries, and connect food that would otherwise go to waste with people who need it. I lead the House Food Fighters Caucus, where I have worked with colleagues to protect funding for food banks and pantries, senior nutrition, SNAP fruit and vegetable incentives, and summer food assistance for children. During difficult budget years, I have consistently fought to protect food assistance because these programs are essential to families, seniors, children, and people with disabilities. In 2025, I organized with 17 colleagues around specific budget priorities for emergency food, senior nutrition, SNAP produce incentives, and SUN Bucks. I will continue fighting to protect SNAP, the Food Assistance Program, WIC, school and summer meals, senior nutrition, and other public nutrition programs from federal cuts, and ensure Washington steps in where we can to prevent people from losing access to food. We also need stable state support for food banks and pantries so they can purchase food, maintain facilities and equipment, transport and store fresh food, and respond to growing demand. Washington has already expanded school meals and made substantial investments in food assistance, and I will work to protect and build on that progress. Food banks are an essential partner in our safety net, but they cannot replace it.

What have you done to understand food insecurity in the communities you seek to represent—including engaging with people experiencing hunger or local hunger-relief organizations—and what policies would you prioritize to address the root causes of hunger and ensure Washington residents can afford and access the food they need?

I have worked directly with hunger-relief organizations in my community and across the state for years, including the Thurston County Food Bank and Food Lifeline. I have volunteered at our local food bank, worked with food-bank leaders on legislation, and listened to the organizations serving people experiencing hunger about both the growing need and the barriers people face in accessing nutritious food. Those relationships have reinforced for me that hunger is rarely just about food. It is about whether a family has enough left after paying for housing, child care, health care, utilities, transportation, and other necessities. Washington’s own investments in food assistance have been part of a broader poverty-reduction strategy that also includes cash assistance, housing, health care, child care, and the Working Families Tax Credit. To address the root causes of hunger, I will continue prioritizing affordable housing, child care and health care; lower energy costs; strong wages and worker protections; and a more equitable tax system that does not place the greatest burden on people with the least ability to pay. I also support removing barriers to assistance for immigrant and refugee families, seniors, people with disabilities, rural residents, and others who may face additional obstacles to getting the food they need. Food security ultimately depends on household economic security. Our goal should be not only to make sure people have food today, but to build a Washington where fewer families need emergency food assistance in the first place.

What policies or investments would you support to strengthen Washington’s food system, increase access to locally produced food, support Washington farmers and producers, and reduce food waste?

Washington should be doing more to connect the food we grow here with the people who need it, while making sure farmers and producers can make a sustainable living.

I have worked for years on policies to reduce wasted food, expand food donation, and build a stronger and more sustainable food system.

One of the approaches I am particularly proud of connects those goals directly: my food-waste legislation has helped create opportunities to purchase unsold produce from Washington farmers for food banks, increasing access to fresh food while providing farmers another market for what they grow.

The legislation also expanded opportunities for schools to reduce food waste and strengthened Washington’s composting system.

I support continued investment in Farm to Food Pantry, Farm to School, local food purchasing, SNAP fruit and vegetable incentives, and the infrastructure small and midsize producers need to store, process, transport, and sell their products.

We should make it easier for Washington-grown food to reach schools, senior programs, food banks, farmers markets, and families throughout the state.

Reducing food waste must also remain a priority.

Edible food should stay in the food system and reach people whenever possible.

We should continue investing in food recovery, refrigeration, transportation, gleaning, donation infrastructure, and partnerships among growers, retailers, schools, and hunger-relief organizations.

Only after edible food has been recovered should we turn to composting and other ways of keeping organic material out of landfills.

Finally, strengthening our food system means supporting the people who produce our food and helping Washington agriculture remain viable as farmers face rising costs and changing climate conditions. The goal should be a resilient food system that works for farmers, farmworkers, families, and the environment.