Inflation Concerns Propel Food Bank Legislation Through Committee

September 1, 2022

Summary

A committee of the King County Council has passed legislation that would task the county with identifying resources to help local food banks that are struggling from the impacts of rising inflation, labor shortages, and historic interest rate spikes. The measure was passed unanimously out of the council’s Law, Justice, Health, and Human Services Committee yesterday.

Story

A committee of the King County Council has passed legislation that would task the county with identifying resources to help local food banks that are struggling from the impacts of rising inflation, labor shortages, and historic interest rate spikes. The measure was passed unanimously out of the council’s Law, Justice, Health, and Human Services Committee yesterday.

“At this very moment across King County, foodbanks are not able to keep up,” said Dunn. “Combined with the most vulnerable being hit the hardest by increasing costs of basic goods and services this is a recipe for disaster. We need to act now to ensure food banks are getting the supplies they need to serve communities across King County. With the passage of this legislation out of committee, we have taken a significant step forward to do just that.”

As emergency COVID-19 aid wanes, food banks are still experiencing high demand. At the same time, high inflation rates impacting the costs of groceries are causing more people to turn to food banks for help. Those same inflation rates have reduced the amount of donations food banks are receiving and have also increased the costs of buying food to keep their supply sufficiently stocked. 

“Food banks are vital pillars of our communities. They feed families in need, provide water during the many heat waves over the summer, and even connect individuals to resources like rental assistance, job training, health services, and more,” said committee chair Girmay Zahilay. “If we want healthy and happy communities, we must support our food banks. I’m proud to work directly with food banks and community members to create this legislation to promote food security in District 2 and throughout King County.”

According to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index report for Seattle in July 2022, inflation is up more than 8% from 2021. Food prices have jumped 10.3% from a year ago. The report also detailed how energy prices increased 28.5% percent over the year. This increase is largely due to the 39.4% increase in gas prices.

This legislation asks King County to look at all possible ways to support food banks through a process of outreach to identify needs and to figure out what assistance might be provided, such as grants or volunteer recruitment. The legislation will be heard for a final vote at the September 20th full Council meeting.