Daniel Schafer
Communications
“Our job is to feed people.”
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| The WSDA Food Assistance team. |
It sounds like a simple objective, but the act of feeding hungry people across Washington State is nothing short of a herculean effort involving hundreds of dedicated people and dozens of community and state organizations. At the center of this effort is the Food Assistance Program at Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA).
In Washington’s hunger relief landscape, WSDA’s role is multi-faceted. The Food Assistance Program manages and distributes funds and food that comes from the Federal government as well as the state. It’s a world full of acronyms, where one program may serve a particular niche while another attempts to cover a broad swathe of needs. The funds dedicated to hunger relief in Washington provide some idea of the scale of the need. Food banks and pantries received just under $5 million in funding from the state of Washington’s Emergency Food Assistance Program (EFAP) in 2019, according to the WSDA website. To put that into perspective, EFAP alone provided a staggering 148 million pounds of food to 1.12 million Washingtonians struggling with food insecurity. That’s on top of food provided by the Federal government, an amount that totaled $32 million last year.
It’s easy to see why Kim Eads, the program manager for WSDA’s Food Assistance Program, and her team take their work so seriously. “If we don’t do our job, hunger relief organizations don’t get funding and we can’t feed people,” she says.
Eads has worked for various agencies in Washington as the state’s hunger relief efforts have evolved, and in August 2023, she celebrated 35 years on the job. Today, Eads is highly respected in the emergency food assistance community, developing new programs and directing WSDA’s efforts to address food insecurity in the state. But Eads is quick to point out that none of the work going on at Food Assistance would be possible without the dedication of her team, and those across the state working in the hunger relief sector.
“I could not have had a better team of committed people,” says Eads. “They do this work for the same reasons. We sometimes disagree, but we remember why we’re here and we work hard. Whatever we do, we are mindful of why we’re doing it.”
A dedicated staff leads this important work
WSDA’s Food Assistance program serves as the conduit for state and federal dollars and food that must be distributed to food banks, food pantries, and similar organizations throughout Washington. The work is important, and the program’s 16 employees are acutely aware of this.
“If Food Assistance stopped functioning, a lot of people would go hungry,” says logistics specialist James Scovel, who has worked with the program his entire career, since 1997. Without Food Assistance, “people wouldn’t get the food they need to survive day to day,” he continues. “That means something. This is a meaningful job, and not a lot of people get to say that.”
Jeff Mathias, the Food Assistance farm to community specialist lead, adds that “it’s all about feeding hungry people.” Mathias goes on to say that the results of the work being done in the Food Assistance program is tangible. “When it comes to getting work done, we know why we’re doing it, there’s no disconnect. Because of the work that we do today, someone is going to get fed.”
Scovel and Mathias’ outlook is common among their colleagues, and this dedication and understanding of the gravity of the program’s work has led to a high degree of retention and engagement in the program.
“You get hooked,” says Kyle Merlich, the program’s lead food assistance specialist and a ten-year Food Assistance veteran. Part of the reason people working in the Food Assistance Program are so dedicated is because government guidelines and community needs are always changing, adding a layer of challenge to the work, but also providing opportunities. “I have always felt there’s an upward trajectory with our work,” says Merlich. “There’s always more to learn. Our programs don’t have a ceiling.”
Building the Food Assistance team
Kim Eads has played a central role in building this dedicated, high-functioning team. “Kim pulls the best out of all of us,” says Lisa White, the program’s business operations administrator. White, has worked in Food Assistance for ten years and attributes much of her professional growth to Eads. “She saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself,” says White. “Kim asked if I would like to try a new project, and over time she gave me more and more responsibility,” she continues. “Little by little, she taught me things. And when I was able, I took those projects over.” White attributes Eads’ mentoring abilities to the fact that she cares for the people on her team. “It’s not just about her program, it’s about her people as well.”
Kyle Merlich adds that Eads is adept in helping everyone on the team to move toward common goals. “Kim makes sure everyone knows they have a part to play in achieving our goals,” he says. But a key component is also valuing colleagues as people. Even though the Food Assistance team works hard, Merlich is quick to add that Eads ensures “there is time to get to know coworkers and value them as people, too.”
Improving hunger relief in Washington
WSDA’s Food Assistance program is dedicated to serving hungry people in Washington. This means understanding what people in communities across the state need — and these needs are as diverse as the communities themselves.
“The emergency food system is always evolving so our programs have to evolve,” says Kyle Merlich. “Food banks and food pantries are in the same situation — needing to adjust to a changing food system.” But the changing needs of communities also mean that Food Assistance must constantly evaluate their approach to make sure it’s effective.
One innovation that the program has led in recent years is to empower food banks in smaller, and often rural, communities to make more decisions. This has allowed hunger relief organizations to serve the unique needs of their clients. “We are trying to give smaller organizations a say in how their dollars are spent, how the food is distributed, and how local matters in terms of food banks,” says logistics specialist, James Scovel. “Having decisions made on a smaller level provides local buy-in and allows for better facilities in smaller areas, and sometimes means more people can be employed there,” he adds. Hiring more people can be a game-changer for rural food banks, because it means the facilities can be open for longer hours or more days during the week, which in turn means they can serve more people.
Seeing food as a system
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| WSDA's Food Assistance Program is working to connect farmers with local food banks. |
priority to approach hunger relief as a component of the larger food system. Hunger relief intersects with local food and agriculture, and the program has worked to leverage these intersections in a way that will better serve individuals and families in need.
State and Federal programs have made it possible for food banks and food pantries to purchase food directly from farmers. This not only brings more fresh fruits and vegetables to food-insecure people in Washington, but it also supports local agriculture. What’s more, by helping get local produce into the hands of their clients, hunger relief organizations have the ability to provide culturally relevant and healthier foods that may not otherwise be available.
This approach has been successful in Washington State, and the timing couldn’t have been better. Hunger relief has always been an uphill battle because the need almost always outpaces the ability to provide relief. But there are signs that Food Assistance and the hunger relief organizations they support are making a difference. Preliminary data shows nearly 10.8 million clients (including repeat clients) visited food banks and food pantries in Washington State during the 2023 fiscal year, which runs from July 1st to June 30th. If these figures hold, it would mean an increase of over 2.4 million visits from the previous year.
Need is increasing across Washington
With more people visiting food banks than ever before, there is a need for more food to be distributed. In 2022, 181.4 million pounds of food were distributed in Washington. That figure will increase this year, with preliminary figures totaling just over 202 million pounds. For almost every metric, the need for hunger relief is increasing in Washington. The number of families served increased by almost 136,000 this year, while 1.7 million people visited a food bank or food pantry for the first time.
With such a need, Washington requires the dedicated and capable team at Food Assistance, as well as their partners throughout the hunger relief ecosystem, including food bank and food pantry employees, farmers, and more.
“All the people who work here are all super important,” says James Scovel. “It’s the team that does it and it couldn’t be done without everyone.”
Luisa Castro, the assistant director of Food Safety and Consumer Services – within which the Food Safety Program is housed – agrees. She also explains how Program Manager Kim Eads helps the team thrive through her example and leadership. “Kim Eads is a unique leader whose natural inclination is to serve and serve first,” she says. “This includes serving her team and serving the greater Washington community in need. It is obvious in everything that Kim does.”