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News
Grocery prices are a top financial worry, WA residents say
February 19, 2025 | The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times looks at the growing high cost of food for Washington households, citing a state-wide survey conducted by UW Food Systems researchers called WAFOOD. FSNH faculty member Marie Spiker is quoted, “Of all the indicators that we have of how are households doing financially, food insecurity is a really important one, because it has these close ties to human health.”
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UW, WSU study shows WA residents struggling to pay for one particular monthly expense
February 17, 2025 | The Bellingham Herald
This article by the Bellingham Herald highlights findings from the fifth edition of the Washington State Food Security Survey released on Feb. 13, revealing a potential rise in food insecurity in Washington.
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Gobsmacked by groceries, Inflation inching higher for Washington consumers weary at the market
February 16, 2025 | The Spokesman Review
The Spokesman Review highlights both the national trends of food costs, as well as Washington state trends, pointing to a report released in February from the Washington State Food Security Surveys, showing that state residents continue to worry about food prices.
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The growing struggle to afford groceries in Washington State
February 13, 2025
Groceries were the most common expense reported as hard to afford in the past month, followed by housing, according to the latest WAFOOD survey. Rising food prices and the expiration of pandemic-era assistance programs have intensified economic pressures on households statewide.
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Mayor Harrell Releases Updated “Food Action Plan” to Guide City Policies and Programs, Increase Food Security in Seattle
September 5, 2024 | City of Seattle
Yona Sipos, core faculty in the Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health program is quoted in this recent post by the City of Seattle Mayor’s office, remarking, “The recently updated plan provides an impressive vision of how we can all pursue equity, sustainability, and resilience for our City and region. Food and food systems can truly act as unifying themes for communities, and the Plan’s level of detail provides clear goals and strategies to connect, learn, and contribute positively — which many of us at the University of Washington anticipate doing with students across the Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health program, among others.”
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Jennifer Otten elected president of Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society
June 10, 2024
University of Washington faculty member Jennifer Otten has been elected the incoming president of the Agriculture, Food & Human Values Society (AFHVS), a professional organization which provides an international forum to engage in the cross-disciplinary study of food, agriculture, and health, as well as an opportunity for examining the values that underlie various visions of...
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Adam Drewnowski named 2024 Wilbur Olin Atwater Memorial Lecturer
March 22, 2024
The United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (ARS), has named Adam Drewnowski, professor of epidemiology at the University of Washington School of Public Health the 2024 Wilbur Olin Atwater Memorial Lecturer. The Wiblur Olin Atwater Memorial Lecture is a forum for a presentation on a scientific topic, trend, issue, or policy of the lecturer’s...
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New paper illustrates complexity of food systems data and how to close gaps
October 11, 2023
How do we support and transform sustainable food systems while maintaining and improving the nutritional status of the population? This question has become a global public health priority for international organizations, funders, academics, and policymakers. Because food systems data are so transdisciplinary and intersect many domains such as health, nutrition, economics, society, and environment, creating...
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Survey shows food insecurity remains high in Washington state
March 8, 2023 | KOMO News
UW associate professor Jennifer Otten was interviewed in this video and article from KOMO News about the recent results from the WAFOOD survey the impacts on low income households, particularly those with children. How Washingtonians are copying with food and fuel costs is highlighted.
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How WA food banks are handling a hunger cliff
March 8, 2023 | KUOW
The state of food insecurity in Washington state, as changes in federal law that will end $95 million a month in food assistance. Recently published new data from a UW and WSU survey highlights that food insecurity was highest in households made up of people of color, families with children, and among renters.
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