NWH: Editorial from Shelley Rotondo, Executive Director of Northwest Harvest

At Northwest Harvest, we are very concerned about the cuts to support programs for vulnerable families contained in the governor’s proposed supplemental budget. We strongly believe that this time of great hardship is not the time to cut the programs that make up the very safety net that will keep more working families and low-income individuals from falling into abject poverty. Northwest Harvest has been fighting hunger in Washington for over 40 years, partnering with over 300 hunger programs to get food to the people who need it. Essential to our work is our ability to keep an ear to the ground, listening to our neighbors in need through monthly hunger program reports and a series of annual meetings around the state with our partners and those we serve. In this way, we learn what they are experiencing in their communities: Do they have enough food to meet the need? What are the trends they are seeing? Who are the folks presenting themselves in need?

I believe that our direct and constant connection with people and programs all across the state, in addition to our 42 years of experience fighting hunger, give Northwest Harvest great credibility. And because Northwest Harvest does not receive any government money for operations, we have no financial self interest when it comes to budgeting decisions in Washington State. But we do care deeply about Washington’s economic future, and we are passionate about helping families keep enough food on the table for kids to be successful in school and for adults to be successful on the job. It is from this position that we weigh in on the Governor’s proposed supplemental budget.

Everywhere across the state, people report to us that the need for emergency food has grown dramatically in the past two years. We hear of families losing their homes through foreclosure, facing medical bills that do not leave enough income for food, losing good-paying jobs or being unable to find affordable housing. Economic insecurity is growing in Washington as it is across the country.

In the past twelve months Washington has lost over 100,000 jobs. In the 2009 legislative session we witnessed severe cuts to support programs for lower-income families, programs intended to help people stay on their feet and get through tough times like we are experiencing now. As these crucial support services are eliminated or scaled back, more people all across the state are presenting themselves to their community hunger relief programs with greater needs. We are being asked to do more than we have ever been asked to do. Everything we hear in the news leads us to believe we will be experiencing more tough economic times well into 2011.

Many of the people contributing to the longer lines at emergency food programs are first-time users of food assistance programs. These new faces challenge the stereotypes that many of us have of those in need. We hear stories of former volunteers or donors who are now turning up for a free meal or a bag of groceries to help feed their families. We see more children and more seniors in the lines to be sure, but increasingly we are also seeing more working families who, feeling the pinch from all sides, are turning to their community hunger programs for help.

It is for these reasons that we are deeply troubled by the Governor’s proposal to eliminate Basic Health, Apple Health for kids, and General Assistance for the Unemployable (GAU). We are equally troubled by the severe proposed cuts to Medicaid services, senior services, maternity support services, and long term care services. We know of countless food (bank?) recipients across the state struggling with high health care costs that force tough decisions about whether to see a doctor or feed the kids. We know of mothers routinely making the choice to forgo a meal so their kids can eat. We know what the loss of crucial maternity support services will mean for the health of low-income mothers and babies, who are already more likely to have low birth weight babies and other complications around child birth. We also know that a number of homeless people and people with permanent disabilities who rely on community meal programs and food banks also rely on GAU and Medicaid programs that provide much needed mental health and disability services. These programs may not be direct hunger programs, but they are critical programs for those experiencing food insecurity and hunger. We know that without these programs food insecurity in Washington will increase beyond the record levels we are already seeing.

The incredible support we receive for our work from communities all across the state demonstrates that Washingtonians do not want to see more hardship for our neighbors. Increasing economic hardship now for folks already struggling will only delay our state’s economic recovery. Governor Gregoire has stated that the proposed budget is not one she can live with, nor one the people of the state can live with. We agree. Northwest Harvest and our partner hunger programs across the state will continue to rise to the challenge that is being asked of us in this difficult time. We ask that the Governor and the Legislature help us meet this challenge by ensuring that the final supplemental budget passed in the upcoming 2010 session preserves these vital support programs.