Lawmakers, Food Lifeline unveil bills to shore up grocery access as hunger rises

Food Lifeline and a group of Washington state lawmakers on Friday outlined a legislative package aimed at preventing grocery deserts and strengthening food-security systems as hunger climbs across the state.

"Our mission at Food Lifeline is to feed people experiencing hunger today while working to end hunger tomorrow," said Steven Davis, president and CEO of Food Lifeline, describing the nonprofit’s role distributing food across 17 counties. He and other speakers cited local data showing roughly "1 in 8" people and "1 in 6" children in the organization’s service area face food insecurity.

State Representative Daria Farabhar, who represents the 46th Legislative District, urged treating grocery access as infrastructure and outlined three bills targeted at different failures in the market. "When a grocery store closes, families don't stop needing food," Farabhar said, arguing the package will clear legal barriers, give local governments flexible tools, and provide a limited municipal option as a last resort. She identified the measures as House Bill 2294 (to remove anticompetitive covenants that block new grocery operators), House Bill 2297 (to give local governments tools to keep or attract stores), and House Bill 2313 (to allow limited municipal action where private options fail).

A grocery worker, Dan Howze, who identified himself as a member of UFCW 3000, described the human and worker impacts of store closures and said HB 2313 "is about giving communities options." Howze and Farabhar said the bills do not force cities to open or run stores but allow municipalities to partner, own, or otherwise step in where markets leave gaps.

A lawmaker serving as chair of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee framed the legislative effort as a state-level response to federal changes in nutrition programs, called the caucus a "food fighters" coalition and listed additional related bills under consideration, including a state farm bill and proposals on food donation, dynamic grocery pricing and medically tailored meals. The chair said the coalition’s outreach included monthly calls with more than 160 partners and provided an estimate that federal changes could translate to "over 107,000,000 meals" and affect "over 130,000" residents — figures cited by the speaker as an estimate of potential impacts, not independently verified in the event.

Organizers emphasized collaboration with grocery operators, labor, cities and nonprofits in drafting the bills and encouraged public support via volunteering, donations and advocacy. No formal votes or motions were taken during the press conference; speakers offered to take questions and, seeing none, closed the public remarks.