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?

In the Legislature I’ve treated hunger as a core responsibility, and am a member of the Food Fighters Caucus. In 2021 I prime-sponsored HB 1151. It gave families five additional months of food assistance, expanded cash assistance, and required the state to update standards of need that hadn’t been revisited since 1991. I worked with allies in the legislature and beyond to secure added funding for the WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program. I co-sponsored free school meals expansion (HB 1238) and the 2023 hunger relief bill (HB 1784), which helped cover the loss of pandemic SNAP benefits. I’ve also spent years with Food Lifeline and Nourish Pierce County raising the alarm about hunger among military families around JBLM. Further, I have been the cosponsor of the KIds EAT Free bill to ensure all kids have meals at schools across our State every year it’s been introduced, without fail. I’ve also worked to secure capital dollars year after year for food recovery facilities, including just this past session with $5m for the Nourish Food security in my district. HR1 is set to massively increase the budgetary burden of SNAP on Washington state, which means tough conversations need to be held about what comes next. We must fully fund the state’s administrative share and make payment accuracy a budget priority, because every point we cut from the error rate lowers what Washington owes and keeps benefits from being rationed. I’ll also keep funding state food assistance for the refugees and lawfully present immigrants that Congress cut off. Our food banks do a great deal of work within the 28th, such as providing food and toiletries for students and those entering the workforce. To be most effective, they must have consistent supplies and funding. This means: – protecting WSDA’s emergency food grants – continuing capital investments, such as this year’s funding for Nourish Pierce County – sustaining purchases of Washington-grown food – putting into law a standing way to move funds to food banks when federal benefits are disrupted, which the governor had to improvise during last fall’s shutdown.

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 grew up in a military family and know what a struggle it can be for a family on base to get reliable access to healthy food. For years I directed student support services at Pierce College, and I watched capable students drop out because they couldn’t cover rent and food at the same time. As deputy director of Pierce County Human Services, I saw how housing costs, childcare, health care, and hunger compound each other in the same households. As a legislator, I’ve joined Food Lifeline, Nourish Pierce County, and our congressional delegation in town halls on military family hunger. I’ve written about the issue in an Op-Ed and gone to food distributions serving families near JBLM on and off base as well as food distribution facilities. The lesson from those conversations is consistent: families visiting food banks are working, serving, studying, or caring for someone, and food is the budget line that gives when rent, childcare, or a medical bill can’t. While grocery costs are higher than they should be, they are not what is squeezing wallets for most folks. Housing costs, child care, and medical care drain people’s wallets before they can factor in what they’ll be eating. I’ll continue fighting for common-sense and outcome-focused policies that bring prices down for these necessities.I’m proud of my work to connect folks to training and educational programs, allowing them to get into specialized fields with jobs that pay well.

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 feeds the world, yet too many families here can’t afford what our farmers grow, while good food gets plowed under or thrown away. Those aren’t separate problems. The best policies solve them together, linking farmers’ markets to the families and institutions that need their food. We simply must ensure our Washington farms are strong and robust and do all we can to support farmers in this endeavor to remain open and viable. I’ll also continue my advocacy to get fresh food in everyone’s homes. I’ve backed that approach in the Legislature. With Sen. Liz Lovelett, I secured added funding for the WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program, which helps young families buy fresh produce directly from local growers. In 2024, I co-sponsored HB 2301, which created grants for food rescue, wasted-food reduction, cold storage, refrigerated transport, and community food hubs. Washington has committed to cutting food waste in half by 2030, and that law gives us the tools to get there. I’ll support efforts for a farm donation program and direct purchasing from local farmers, producers, tribes, and food hubs. Food banks get fresh protein, dairy, and produce, while farmers get a reliable market for surplus that might otherwise go to waste and assist these efforts to benefit our veterans and families, women, minority, and tribal producers and beyond.