The Right to Food: Building a Future Where Everyone Has Enough

“Food justice is not just about feeding the hungry; it’s about empowering communities and creating lasting change.”

— Leah Penniman, Co-Founder of Soul Fire Farm, activist

Communities across the United States and around the world have fought for food justice for centuries, often at great personal risk. From enslaved Africans and indigenous communities displaced from their ancestral lands to migrant farmworkers organizing for their rights, people have always advocated for their right to food.

The movement continues: states across the country are working to officially realize the Right to Food. The Right to Food is a call to action and a legal framework for coordinated reform in food, agriculture, health, labor, and the environment.

The Four Pillars of Food Rights

For the Right to Food to be realized, food must be universally:

Available

Food is nutritious for growth, development, long-term health, and physical activity; food is safe for consumption and acceptable within a given culture.

Accessible

Individuals and communities have sufficient physical and economic infrastructure to permit everyone the proximity to the food they need and desire, obtained in a dignified way, and have the resources to purchase that food without sacrificing other basic needs. Food is accessible to the physically and mentally vulnerable, and to victims of emergent natural and man-made disasters.

Adequate

Individuals consume enough calories, nutrients, and micronutrients to lead healthy and safe lives by having access to resources for growing food and through the availability of food for purchase near where they live.

Sustainable

Food is produced in such a way that the local ecology is not harmed, and natural resources are protected and regenerated so that our health and the health of our communities is optimized today and for future generations.

Community Self-Determination

Realizing the Right to Food also requires that communities, especially marginalized communities, have self-determination, agency, and autonomy in defining their own local food and farm systems, and economies that ensure the right to food.

This means supporting community-led solutions, honoring traditional food practices, and ensuring that those most affected by food insecurity have a voice in creating solutions.

The Path Forward

Achieving the Right to Food in Washington state will require all of us, working together. The movement recognizes that food security cannot be separated from other forms of justice – housing, healthcare, fair wages, and environmental protection are all interconnected.

The Right to Food is more than a policy goal – it’s a vision for a world where access to nourishing food is guaranteed for all people, regardless of their circumstances. When we work toward the Right to Food, we’re not just addressing hunger – we’re building a more just and equitable society where everyone has the foundation they need to thrive.

Get Involved

• Support Right to Food legislation by contacting your representatives to advocate for policies that establish food as a legal right.
• Sign up for our action alerts to learn more about how you can be involved.
• Join or support organizations working to advance Right to Food initiatives in your community.
• Advocate for community self-determination by supporting community-led food solutions and ensuring marginalized voices are centered in food policy decisions.
• Connect the dots between food justice and other social justice issues – housing, healthcare, labor rights, and environmental protection are all interconnected.
• Share your story about how the Right to Food would impact your community and why food should be guaranteed for all.