WAFOOD5 Show Struggles Of Washington Households

According to the latest Washington State Food Security Survey, groceries were the most common expense reported as hard to afford in the past month.  Results for WAFOOD5, the fifth and latest iteration of the survey, were released in mid-February.  Those results show: 

• Food insecurity was more common among households with children; larger households; lower income households; and households with Black, American Indian/Alaskan Native and multi-racial respondents.
• Among the 55% of surveyed respondents who used food assistance in the past month, food banks/pantries, SNAP and school meals were among the most-used programs.
• 70% of food insecure respondents reported reducing their food quantity and quality due to high costs.
• Stress, anxiety and depression were more common among food insecure households, with 84% of food-insecure households reporting high stress.  

Since 2020, the WAFOOD surveys have provided key insights into food insecurity trends throughout the state by intentionally oversampling households with lower incomes and those using food assistance to help inform policy and collaborative strategies.

“This latest data confirms what our hunger relief partners across the state have been telling us. A growing number of Washingtonians are impacted by food insecurity and are worried about their ability to afford food,” said Katie Rains, food policy advisor at WSDA. “WSDA continues to support this important research because food is important to everybody. We all have to eat, and we’re in this together. By making this information broadly available to policymakers and community organizations, we hope to foster a shared understanding and collaborative strategies to address food insecurity and feed people well in our state in the years ahead.”

For details from the WAFOOD5 report, Click Here.

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