Washington Households Continue To Struggle With Food Insecurity

A new survey finds many Washington families are still struggling to put food on the table as prices remain high.  The latest Washington Food Security Survey found nine in ten households noticed higher prices over the past month.

The report added among families facing food insecurity, nearly seven in ten said they've cut back on the amount or quality of food they eat to make ends meet.  Nearly half of all households surveyed used some type of food assistance, including food banks, SNAP benefits, or school meal programs.

Researchers say the findings show food inflation is affecting both family budgets and health, with food-insecure households also reporting much higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression.

“At a time that we’re seeing huge disruptions to federal food assistance programs and the loss of the national survey that allowed us to track whether rates of household food insecurity were going up or down at a national and state level, [this] data are more important than ever,” said Marie Spiker, PhD, RD, co-principal investigator and assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Washington. “Knowing how people are faring is part of good governance, and for Washington State to have this kind of data is really important"

“Our findings show that Washington households continue to feel the impact of rising prices,” said Jennifer Otten, PhD, RD, principal investigator and professor in the University of Washington Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences. “What is especially concerning is that nearly seven in ten food-insecure households reported cutting back on the quantity or quality of food that they eat and this is a reminder that food inflation is not just an economic issue, but also a health and wellness issue.”

Spiker also noted that food insecurity at higher income levels reflects the broader cost-of-living pressures Washington residents face: “We often see food security affected not just by food prices, but by all the rising costs of living that compete with food in the household budget."

The survey collected responses from more than 5,700 Washington households this spring.  For additional details from the survey, Click Here.

The Food Security Survey is led by the University of Washington and Washington State University, with funding support from Washington State Department of Agriculture.