As Whatcom County reviews a hefty funding request from county food banks, the county council is considering affirming food security as a public health priority.
The council expects to vote in November on a resolution that asks Executive Satpal Sidhu to address food insecurity and support food access efforts, and alert legislators of the severity of the crisis.
Council members drafted the resolution after a $2 million ask from the Whatcom County Food Bank Network that the county likely can’t afford given its budget challenges.
The food bank network requested the annual funding from the county in July, citing massive increases in demand over the last several years. Food banks across the county now serve 9,000 households a week.
“I mostly just want to make sure it’s clear that this is an issue we care about and do what we can and leverage the dollars we can to continue to address it,” said council member Kaylee Galloway, who worked on the resolution.
In an email to council members, Sidhu said he “supports the motives” of the resolution but said limited local resources are available to “fill this humongous gap in the basic food necessities of Whatcom County residents.”
He suggested, to the agreement of council members, that the resolution should “directly express the dire need for immediate intervention by federal and state authorities” to provide funding to food banks.
Council member Ben Elenbaas suggested that the resolution should include a review of “bureaucracy and red tape” in county departments that prevents or limits local producers from supplying their food to partners, particularly in the health department.
Council members invited more feedback from community members on the resolution, before they bring it forward for a vote in a few weeks.
Food bank funding requests
Bellingham Food Bank Executive Director Mike Cohen said the county has made no commitments yet on the level of funding it expects to allocate to the food bank network, which includes food banks across the county. He acknowledged that the county is in a challenging budget situation but said the food system needs more funding.
The network was previously receiving $138,000 a year, but received $1.5 million in federal ARPA funds over the past two years.
“Any decrease from what we’re currently receiving will mean less food available for each food bank because they’re spending every penny that we’ve gotten from Whatcom County this past year,” Cohen said.
The Bellingham Food Bank also requested $1 million from the City of Bellingham. Mayor Kim Lund has committed $250,000 in the city’s proposed 2025 budget.
Lund said in a statement that the city has historically contributed $30,000 to $50,000 annually to the food bank, but with pandemic federal support ending, she’s allocated a quarter-million “to do our part in recognition of growing needs and the tremendous value provided by our food bank.”
“I am grateful we can step up to do more in this time of constrained revenues, and I also acknowledge that our support is not proportional to the need,” Lund said, adding that the city will be asking their federal partners to “bring more attention and resources to food insecurity.”
Cohen said he appreciated “the mayor’s effort to listen and find something in a very challenging budget year.”
Cohen said that whether the county comes through with the funding or not, more people continue to visit food banks and the food they purchase isn’t getting cheaper. He said food banks consistently seek out other sources of funding, but those are limited.
Charlotte Alden is CDN’s general assignment/enterprise reporter; reach her at charlottealden@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 123.
