By Rebecca Rice
Summer 2019
People all across the United States are asking the same question, which has trickled down into our local communities. From the outside, a country as profitable as the U.S. and a community as seemingly affluent as Issaquah should not be faced with hunger due to lack of food, yet every day we see and hear about people who don’t have access to basic necessities. At the Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank, we believe that everyone should have enough to eat, and when someone says they’re hungry, they should receive food. Simple, right? But unfortunately, not the reality we’re faced with.
Hunger in the U.S. often looks different than hunger in some other countries. When national resources are low, hunger comes in the form of famine and literal starvation. “Hunger” in the United States is most often due to food insecurity. In King County, 1 in 5 children are food insecure, meaning they don’t know where, when, or what their next meal is going to be. Many times individuals and families will turn to fast food to fill their stomachs because that’s all they can afford; but due to the high caloric intake and unhealthy content of these food sources, there is a rising correlation between obesity and food insecurity, leading to the misconception that the need isn’t prevalent.
In our own community, food insecurity is a result of the high cost of living. Washington has a higher minimum wage than most states and Seattle specifically has an even higher minimum wage, almost doubling the federally set wage floor. Even with the state and local government boosts in pay, it is still not nearly enough to afford rent, childcare, gas, insurance, hygienic products, clothes, and, most importantly, food in our area. On top of that, the more dependents, the more difficult the situation becomes.
This is where the Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank comes in. We work to fill the gaps and provide plenty of healthy produce, frozen meats, canned goods, and other food items for families that need help filling their fridges and pantries.
But what happens when people feel uncomfortable or are physically unable to come shop with us? These families and individuals are learning and experiencing some of the MANY barriers that people who are “low-income” experience all the time.
As an example, for someone who works a 9 to 5 job then has to pick up their child from daycare at 6, the chance of getting to a food bank during open hours is very slim. For families with multiple children, going to a food bank during the summer time might be difficult to manage. A person who doesn’t have easy access to transportation may not physically be able to get to a food bank, among other physical barriers that hinder their accessibility to food.
For others, it’s a social barrier. To them, using a food bank’s resources makes them feel like they have failed to support themselves and their families. There is a shameful connotation associated with having to rely on a food bank, which can be a strong deterrent to many. Some people might simply be nervous or anxious to approach a food bank for the first time as trying anything new is daunting.
At the Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank, we do our best to identify and address these barriers to make our services accessible to a wider reach of people. Expanding our evening hours to accommodate working families, programs like Groceries to Go which delivers groceries to those who aren’t able to come in to shop, and making adjustments to programs that help our shoppers preserve their dignity and their right to choose the food that they take home. We also offer private tours to new shoppers to answer their questions and help them get familiarized with our space before coming in to shop during shopping hours.
We believe that everyone should have easy-access to food. If someone says they’re hungry, they will receive food. If someone says they need help, we’ll do everything within our power to help them move forward. We will continue to listen and make changes to our services, programs, and customer service in order to improve accessibility to food for as many people as possible because nobody should have to wonder where their next meal is coming from.
Together, we can break through these barriers and end hunger in our community!