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?

Food is essential to all parts of a person’s life, and we need to take action at the state level to backfill federal cuts and expand capacity to ensure every person is able to meet their dietary and cultural needs. I recently toured the Emergency Food Network here in my district, and I know the increased demand they are seeing and how reduced funding at both the federal and state level is making the job more difficult. I will work to amplify your voices and bring together my colleagues to strengthen funding for food as budget decisions are being made in the Legislature. Additionally, the Legislature took important action last session with passing the bill to create the state’s first comprehensive food security strategy. Part of this bill is to make recommendations to the Legislature on making food more affordable and ending hunger. I will listen deeply to these recommendations when taking action to protect and strengthen the state’s food security safety net. For me, an important part of this is ensuring that participant choice and access to culturally relevant foods is able to be supported by the state.

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?

At this point in time, I’ve personally knocked on over 8,000 doors in my district, and I hear from neighbors consistently about how the price of groceries is one of their top concerns. As I mentioned in my previous response, too, I recently toured the Emergency Food Network to learn more about their operations and needs. I also recently attended the Nourish Pierce County’s annual community luncheon to support their cause and learn more about their successes and needs. We need a multi-pronged approach to address the root causes of hunger, and that includes creating more housing options to reduce the cost of housing, targeting assistance earlier to help people stabilize through tough times, and tackling the structural causes of high healthcare costs. It also means raising wages, increasing transportation choices, and reversing delays in expanding affordable childcare. It means incentivizing more grocery store development in areas where there isn’t access. And, it means banning surveillance pricing in our state so that our personal data is used to charge us more at the grocery store. All of these policies must be done in a way that promotes access for everyone regardless of their background, and breaking down barriers that prevent people from accessing the programs and services that they need. I will be a committed partner in working on these issues to ensure these policies are meaningful and relevant for all of our residents.

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?

To increase access to locally produced food, I support strengthening the Washington State Department of Agriculture’s regional markets programs and increase the technical and financial assistance that they can provide to farmers. I also support strengthening farm-to-community and food reshare programs and platforms to increase this access and to reduce food waste. There are a number of ideas of tax deductions or carbon credit incentives for these efforts, and I would be interested in seeing what could work in this space. Preserving existing farmland is essential, as well as helping new people seeing farming as a viable career. I believe we need to do more to support mentorship, farm link, and land transfer programs. I also believe we need to keep a close eye on how market consolidation is increasing prices for farmers and producers. We need to ensure that the state is taking action against any anti-competitive activity that undermines the marketplace. We also need to pass right to repair legislation that specifically includes farm equipment as a way to lower prices for farmers and producers. Because of recent legislation, I know that recommendations will be forthcoming from the WSDA and others, and I will be following this work. I have an open door policy, and would be eager to work together to end hunger in our state.