Can’t afford shutdown

We risk a government shutdown if there isn’t a state budget agreement very soon. According to the notice I received recently from the Washington State Department of Agriculture, a shutdown will include the suspension of state funds for food banks, including those for our agency, which supports six food pantries throughout Whitman County.

This would be a devastating blow to our clients, nearly 64 percent of whom are seniors and children. We count on those funds from the Emergency Food Assistance Program (EFAP) to purchase the food that we give to families in need. We count on EFAP to buy the food items that ensure a healthy diet for our clients: meat, canned tuna and peanut butter. For food pantries in small towns that are burdened by high poverty and lack access to a large grocery store, the only funding they have to purchase food with is EFAP funding.

We can’t let this happen. Ours is a community that takes care of each other. We need a budget now and, even more importantly, we need a budget that reflects our values of ensuring that no one suffers because they can’t afford their basic needs.

Paige Collins

Executive director, Council on Aging and Human Services

Colfax