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News
Fund food insecurity response in WA — and demand national fix
March 6, 2023 | Seattle Times
Editorial featured in Seattle Times highlights legislative House bill 1784 which provides aencies charged with making sure those who are food insecure are asking the state for an emergency infusion of $28 million to help increase inventories at food banks and other agencies purchasing food and supplies, help manage storage facilities, food delivery and logistics, and maintain outreach to those who may not have access or know about such services.
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Food insecurity remains high in Spokane and statewide, UW-WSU survey shows
March 5, 2023 | The Spokesman-Review
Dr. Marie Spiker is quoted in this article which highlights the increasing costs of groceries and cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Food Assistance Program (SNAP), and the most recent data from the WAFOOD survey conducted by UW and WSU in December 2022 – January 2023.
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Food insecurity persists in WA, just as emergency benefits expire
February 28, 2023 | Seattle Times
Story provides insight into the region’s looming hunger relief problems citing new data from the UW & WSU WAFOOD survey, and the concern that pandemic-era meal assistance benefits run out this week.
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SNAP cuts lead to warning of “hunger cliff”
February 27, 2023 | AXIOS Seattle
Story highlighting how pandemic food aid is ending nationwide, and this change in the federal law means more than half a million households in Washington will lose a total of about $95 million a month in food assistance even as food and fuel costs remain high or increase. Data cited in the article was recently published by the UW & WSU WAFOOD survey.
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Low-income Washington state households still struggling with food insecurity as pandemic protections end
February 23, 2023
Affording food is such a challenge in Washington state that residents who experience food insecurity say their grocery bills are their biggest source of financial stress, more so than paying for rent or utilities. That’s one of the findings of a food survey of Washington residents from December 2022 to January 2023, run by researchers...
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The pandemic is supposed to be over. Why is Pierce County food insecurity still so high?
February 23, 2023 | The News Tribune
Story highlights WAFOOD research published in 2023 which finds almost half of responding households reported experiencing food insecurity in the past month — with the highest occurrences among BIPOC respondents, households with children and renters. Meanwhile, the overall reliance on food assistance programs and food banks remained high.
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Nutritional Sciences faculty joins Washington State Food Policy Forum
January 10, 2023
Jennifer Otten, a faculty member and food systems scholar in the University of Washington School of Public Health will begin a new appointment in January 2023 as a member of the Washington State Food Policy Forum, a cross-sector group formed by the WA State Legislature in 2016 which makes recommendations for improving the food system...
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How to Get Connected And Fight Food Insecurity
December 8, 2022 | Seattle Medium
Marie Spiker is quoted in this article which highlights ways to help fight food insecurity in the Greater Seattle area in a meaningful way during the holiday season. Spiker says, “It’s not just about ‘not having food’ — people may find themselves skipping meals, reducing the size of their meals or choosing non-preferred foods for financial reasons.”
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UW and partners launch project examining sustainability in animal agriculture
October 17, 2022
Researchers from the University of Washington School of Public Health (UW SPH), together with collaborators from the Washington State University (WSU) Food Systems program, the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment, and the Washington D.C.-based Agriculture & Food Systems Institute, are embarking on a multi-year interdisciplinary effort investigating the intersection of animal agriculture, environmental sustainability,...
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Introducing food system diplomacy, a method to positively influence the health of people and the planet
October 5, 2022
By Kate Stringer When the global food system is thrown into crisis — whether that’s due to a pandemic, a war, a drought — often the first concern is economic fallout. But prioritizing the needs of commerce often comes at the expense of other interests: occupational health, environmental health, and social equity. That’s why food...
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