News & Events - Opportunities to Advocate

Opportunity #1: Attend Budget Hearings
1st Opportunity: Be Present at Budget Meetings
Governor Gregoire has scheduled public input opportunities (PDF) on the upcoming biennial budget in advance of her office's 2011-2012 budget proposal development.
For every representative at these meetings, we are streamlining and consolidating our talking points to show a unified voice for feeding the hungry in Washington. Below is the information on what the Advocacy Committee has put together to have each representative talk about...

Background information and talking points:

The budget “hearings” are going to offer only a small amount of time for testimony. It’s key to start out your comments by putting the state budget in context. Here are thoughts from the Budget and Policy Center on how to begin testimony and some detailed information on Basic Food administrative funding if you want to mention it. Most important is a statement to the Governor and OFM that we continue to call for a balanced approach to managing the budget process, not an all-cuts budget.



1. The budget is a statement of the things we hold dear about our state and where we are going together as Washingtonians. The last several years have seen these essential public functions reduced in ways that are harming our communities. As (anti-hunger advocates, emergency food providers, WIC clinic folks, concerned citizens) we have seen the impact of reduced state services in our communities.

2. Certainly, the state should operate efficiently, but in addressing the budgetary impacts of the national recession, we cannot let the sole response be to further erode important needs from being met. Public systems are essential to insuring that Washington’s families have the support they need in these tough economic times.

3. We need balanced and thoughtful management that looks for opportunities and prioritizes according to our values, like educating our children and helping the friends and neighbors who are struggling in this economy.

4. Because most key anti-hunger programs are primarily federally funded, it is essential that state systems remain adequate and committed to insuring that struggling families can access these programs. We are particularly concerned that this year the Legislature supplanted $10 million in state funding and its federal match for administration of the Basic Food (food stamp) Program with one-time federal funds. These funds must be replaced in the 2011-13 biennial budget. The state has earned a $3 million bonus for its administration of the program; these funds can be matched and would go a long way toward restoring needed administrative dollars.
(Updates to the budget process will be posted on http://www.ofm.wa.gov/budget/default.asp)

Opportunity #2: Invite your Member of Congress to a district meeting or site visit
Every year from early August to Labor Day, members of Congress travel their districts to learn about the issues facing their constituents firsthand. This presents an incredible opportunity both to show the important work your food bank is doing and to elevate key priorities before Congress.