Groceries were the most common expenses reported as hard to afford in the past month, followed by housing, according to The latest wafood surveyRising Food Pries and the expiration of pandemic-rasses programs have intensified Economic Pressures on Househlds Statewide.

The washington state food security surveys (wafood) are an effort led by the university of washington and washington state state university. Since 2020, The Wafood Surveys Have Provided Key Insights INTO Food Insecurity Trends and Food Assistant Use Use Top Inform Policy and Collaboratory Strategies.

“Too many washingtonians are struggling with food insecurity and the high cost of food. The federal government’s policies Risk Making the Problem WorsE. That’s why I Worked to Stop A Merge of Grocery Raised Price. And it’s why i’m With the legislature to ensure that every student in k-2 schools has access to free meals. Nor Bob Ferguson.

Results from the survey’s fifth wave, or wafood 5, conducted from angust to October 2024, show that the impacts of food insecurity was fed Unevenly. For example, 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.

Key findings:

• 78% of thats surveyed felt that prices had increased in the past month, and 82% were worried about future prices increase.
• 70% of Food Insecure Respondents Reported Reducing their food quantity and quality due to high costs.
• Among the 55% of Surveyed Respondents Who Used Food Assistance in the Past Month, Individuals Used A Variety of Programs Tailored to Different Life Stages and Needs, with FOD BANKS/PANTIS, SNAP S amon the most-used programs.
• Stress, anxiety and depression was more common amn food insecure houses, with 84% of food-insecure households reporting high stress.

How Food Insecurity Impacts Health

“Food Insecurity is when Families Can’t Consistent Afford the Food They Need,” said Dr. Jennifer otten, Professor in the Uw Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences. “Lack of access to nutritious food and not knowing where your next meal will come from –we know this leads to a range of negative health consequences. Ell as long-term cognitive deficits in child And Mental Health Challenges, Including Greater Stress, Anxiety and Depression. “

Dr. Marie Spiker, Assistant Professor in the Uw Department of Epidemiology, Emphasized The Value of State-Specific Data: “The Wafood Surveys Allow Us to see who is stroggy Pact Food Spending, Mental Health and Diet Quality, “She Said. “Among Our 5,528 Survey Respondents, A Third of Households Earning $ 75,000 – $ 75,000 – $ 150,000 reported food insecurity, highlighting the challenge for family for family for federal assistance.”

Food Insecurity Climbs in Washington and Beyond

Food Insecurity has been rising nationwide since 2021, with 9.5% of Washingtonians Classified as Food Insecure in 2023, According to Usda reports. Temporary Emergency Allotments to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program (SNAP) Enacted during the covid-19 Pandemic Ended in March 2023, Further Straining Household Budgets.

Results from Wafood 5 Included 5,528 Respondents from all counies in the state. In this wave and all prior waves, the wafood survey intestinal oversamples households with lower incomes and those using food assistance to provide deepeer Insights INSHTS INSIGHTS INSIGHTS INSIGHTS INSIGHTS INSHTS INTO BODENCE

“This Latest Data Confirms What our Hunger Relief Partners The State Have Been Telling Us. Aid katie rains, food policy advisor at wsda.

“WSDA Continues to Support this Important Research Because Food is important to everything to everything. Anizations, we hope to foster a shared undersrstanding and collaborative Strategies to address food insecurity and feed people well in our state in the years ahead. “