Food banks struggle to meet increased need among major funding cuts.
Cuts to federal food assistance programs mean a big hit to vulnerable communities, according to those serving them. Programs such as Local Food Purchase Assistance, or LFPA , Commodity Credit Corporation, Emergency Food and Shelter Program, and Local Food for Schools, or LFS, have already seen cuts or cancellation. With proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, local food banks anticipate even greater losses in the near future.
Food banks find themselves in ‘an uncomfortable power
dynamic … if we decide we’re not purchasing eggs anymore, we
decide for 500 households that they’re not getting eggs.’
When testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said that cutting programs like SNAP are part of the Trump administration’s goal to eliminate “wasteful” spending on “nonessential” programs. When asked about the decision to cancel programs such as the LFS, she said that it was a “COVID-era program that was due to end.”
Two of three rounds of LFPA and LFPA Plus, which provides funding for food banks and other hunger relief programs to purchase food from local farmers to distribute to rural and underserved communities, are set to end June 30. The Washington State Department of Agriculture, or WSDA, has requested extensions for both.
On March 7, the WSDA was notified that the third round, LFPA25, which would have funded these efforts from 2025–2027, has officially been terminated. This is a loss of $180,000 intended for purchasing food from Skagit and Whatcom farmers.
The Commodity Credit Corporation, which made up 30%–40% of emergency food aid from The Emergency Food Assistance Program, has also been cancelled. Without warning, $4.7 million worth of food aid for Washington that food banks were relying on for the April–June quarter were revoked. Whatcom County food banks alone will lose $650,000 worth of food annually.
The cancelled orders contained foods like eggs, canned chicken, turkey breasts, milk, plums and cheddar cheese. The executive director of the Ferndale Food Bank, Sierra Cook, described the difficult position the food bank is in now as an “uncomfortable power dynamic.”
“If we decide we’re not purchasing eggs anymore, we decide for 500 households that they’re not getting eggs,” she said.
The USDA also cut $660 million from the LFS program. Local schools and childcare centers rely on these funds to purchase food from local farms. Farm to School grants, which support schools in developing local food purchasing programs and school gardens, have also been cancelled.
According to Stephanie Sisson, community outreach coordinator for the Bellingham Food Bank, the Whatcom County Food Bank Network estimates a total loss of roughly $880,000 from the recent cuts. She mentioned that it’s hard to quantify the overall impact of recent changes, since aspects like market volatility and tariffs affect food availability and there are still changes being made currently and proposed for the future — including proposed federal cuts of at least $230 billion to SNAP.
Food insecurity on the rise
With the expiration of the additional SNAP benefits dispersed for COVID relief in 2023, food insecurity worsened.
During the pandemic, the number of households visiting the Bellingham Food Bank rose from 1,700 in 2021 to 3,500 in 2022. With households trying to adjust to the loss of income after the cuts to SNAP in 2023, it increased again to 5,000 — approximately 25% of Whatcom County — where it stands currently. This made it the busiest food bank in Washington.
The Ferndale Food Bank serves about 500 households weekly, according to Cook. She said that one in five people in Ferndale use food banks.
Lopez Island Family Resource Center’s 2024 “A Year of Progress” reported 467 households served by its food share program. Based on its annual reports, that’s more than double the 200 they served in 2021.
In Sedro-Woolley, the number of households served by Helping Hands Food Bank and Solution Center in 2024 was 9,500. Skagit Valley Neighbors in Need saw 570 families this past week alone, according to the director, Steve Fox. He said that just a year and a half ago that number was 350.
Ending the stigma
Cook said that many people hold negative stereotypes about food banks and the people who use them that don’t reflect reality.
Both Ferndale and Bellingham’s food banks reported that 20% of those utilizing their services are seniors and 30% are children. The Lopez Island Family Resource Center also sees 50% children and seniors, with its statistics showing 21% children and 29% seniors. That means that only half the people utilizing food banks are considered working-age adults.
In interviews with food banks and county officials, level of income, racial segregation, discrimination and household size were brought up the most as determining factors of how likely someone may be to rely on food banks.
Cook said that one of the biggest driving factors of people visiting the food bank recently is “what we’re all feeling right now: the increased cost of living.” She explained that the lay-offs many people have experienced recently — especially from nonprofits — have increased need, but there are also lots of households in which everyone who can be is employed, “but it’s just not enough to keep up with the cost of living.”
United for ALICE offers a breakdown of the number of asset-limited, income-constrained, employed or ALICE households per county. This refers to households that make enough money to stay above the federal poverty level but not enough to afford basic necessities where they live. The number and percentage of households below the ALICE threshold in each county as of last year are:
- San Juan: 8,654, 38%
- Skagit: 50,818, 39%
- Whatcom: 94,813, 38%
All of these are above the state average of 35%.
Data from the Economic Research Service, or ERS, shows that those who identify as people of color are more likely to experience food insecurity than those who identify as white. In Bellingham, data from 2022 reported 42% of food bank shoppers identified as people of color. A total of 29% of Lopez Island Family Resource Center’s shoppers identified as people of color in 2024.
The ERS has also found evidence of variations based on household size and type, with families with single parents — especially single mothers — being the most likely to experience food insecurity.
More than a food bank
“When people imagine a food bank, what people think we are isn’t necessarily who we are or what we do,” said Sisson in a previous interview.
Food banks don’t fill shelves with whatever food is cheapest and easiest to obtain, she said. They prioritize a variety of healthy, nutritious food options, including rotating selections of fresh produce, frozen meats, dairy and dried foods like rice and beans. They also offer diapers, formula and feminine hygiene products.
Food banks have also been transitioning to setups where shoppers can come in and choose food from off the shelves like they would at any grocery store, making the experience more comfortable and dignified. In addition to typical grocery distribution programs, many food banks also deliver groceries to those who can’t come to the food bank themselves. This may include seniors, students, people in rural areas with limited access to transportation and others.
One of the biggest driving factors of people visiting
the food bank recently is ‘what we’re all feeling right
now: the increased cost of living.’
The Bellingham Food Bank, a collection center for other county food distributions, brings food as far out as Sumas and deposits boxes of groceries in the Foothills area, where it’s taken by the Foothills Food Bank in order to extend its reach even farther. The Ferndale Food Bank’s delivery program also extends throughout Whatcom County, including Lummi Island. Similar programs are found on Orcas, Lummi and San Juan islands.
Fox said that Skagit Valley Neighbors in Need have two routes for their home delivery program that alternate each week to ensure they can reach as many people as possible.
Ferndale Food Bank and Skagit Valley Neighbors in Need also offer backpack programs which allow children to go home with free groceries for weekends and school breaks. The food banks fill backpacks with nutritious, kid-friendly food and deliver them to schools to distribute to students. Fox said that Skagit Valley Neighbors in Need furnishes food to seven different schools, comprising approximately 275 backpacks each week.
Wildbird Charity is an organization dedicated specifically to this type of food distribution, sending 900 Whatcom County kids home with six meals every weekend.
However, Fox said, “My main concern is the people waiting at my door for food.” With an increase in demand and decrease in federal funding, the first thing to go when resources run thin will be the ancillary programs.
An uncertain future
“To be a front-line worker at this time can be very stressful,” Sisson said. She is proud of the work being done at the Bellingham Food Bank. “We’ll do our best to manage changes… We have a highly innovative and resourceful team.”
Sisson also said that fundraising efforts and community engagement have increased in the past few years, crediting the annual Hunger vs. Hunger fundraising campaign as a significant part of the increased donations and awareness. Ethan Hunger, the founder of Hunger Vs. Hunger, recently won the Washington State Volunteer Services Award.
Cook feels grateful for the high level of community engagement with the Ferndale Food Bank. She explains that people are volunteering, donating and asking how they can help. “I think the food bank is a place that the community would not let fail,” she said.
Fox said that some of their 40 volunteers have been there for over a decade, including a woman named Chris Allen who has been volunteering for Skagit Valley Neighbors in Need for 30 years. “Once our volunteers get here, they stay… It’s the kind of place where you come to volunteer, you end up more like family.”
The Helping Hands Food Bank is another winner of the State Volunteer Service Award this year.
“Helping Hands Food Bank and Solution Center has transformed Skagit County into a community where neighbors help neighbors, ensuring that no one goes hungry,” said CEO Rebecca Skrinde when accepting the award. “This consistent support strengthens the entire community, health and resilience, fostering a spirit of unity and care across Skagit County.”
— By Rebecca Sutch
Also read in Salish Current:
• “State service award winner fights hunger,” May 1, 2025
• “San Juan Farmers Market kicks off coupon program fundraiser,” March 6, 2025
• “At local food banks, accelerating need exceeds supply,” Nov. 22, 2024
• “Going for a triple win with Farm to School programs,” Sept. 25, 2024
• “Connecting Skagit’s food producers and food needs,” Jan. 15, 2024