00:00Well, for a closer look then at this story, we're going to cross now to Erin Chazesky,
00:04Director of Advocacy and Public Policy at Food Lifeline, which is based in Seattle.
00:10Erin, I know you've gotten up very, very early to join us today, so thank you very much for that.
00:15Now, if I'm correct, you've been working at Food Lifeline for close to a decade now.
00:20Have you ever seen anything like this before?
00:22I mean, can you remember a time in recent history when Americans reliant on food aid were more vulnerable?
00:30Well, yes, and that was because I was around for the first Trump administration.
00:35That's when I started hunger relief work, and at the time, it felt like we were fighting our own government
00:40just to try to get the most basic needs for people.
00:44So if this is not necessarily the worst that you've seen, I mean, how does it compare?
00:49What makes this time around different, if anything, really?
00:51Well, this time, right now, it feels very similar to the pandemic, and the problem now is that unlike the pandemic,
01:02instead of the federal government coming to help, the federal government is actually running away
01:07and taking billions, if not trillions, of dollars out of the social safety net.
01:11So who are the people that are seeking food aid in your region, perhaps more generally beneficiaries of SNAP in general?
01:21And in my understanding, I mean, people who rely most on it are amongst the most vulnerable populations in the world,
01:27in the country, obviously the unemployed, the elderly, the disabled.
01:30Can you tell us more about the profile of beneficiaries?
01:33It's actually now a lot of people, and so it's certainly people in vulnerable situations, but it reaches higher.
01:44So, for instance, in Washington State, last year, the agencies that we serve, and we're a food bank distribution center,
01:53so we serve agencies all across western Washington, so half of the state.
01:58Last year, those agencies reported serving 2.4 million people for a total of 16 million visits,
02:06and that was 5 million more than the year before.
02:10So the hunger problem is actually reaching a lot of people.
02:16Concretely, what do you think the delays in these SNAP benefits will mean?
02:21What do those who rely on them risk seeing happen in the coming days and then in the more midterm?
02:28Two things.
02:29There's a lot of uncertainty, and so that's a real big problem.
02:33And the second is that federal nutrition programs have traditionally been the first line of defense against hunger.
02:40Now the charitable hunger relief system is needing to be that first line of defense.
02:45The problem with that is that we've been experiencing high levels of food insecurity for so long
02:50that we can't keep up with the overwhelming demand.
02:53So now when you add additional people needing to turn to charity for help, there's just not enough food to go around.
03:02So does this mean that you cannot count on the help of any government officials in this situation?
03:08Is the only alternative at this stage non-governmental entities?
03:15Pretty much.
03:16The problem we find ourselves in, again, is the federal government is not dependable for help during this time.
03:23In fact, the federal government is still shut down.
03:26Our state government doesn't come into legislative session until January, so there's little action that they can take.
03:33Our governor, Governor of Washington, Bob Ferguson, has stepped in and has tried to find some emergency funding.
03:41But that emergency funding was contingent on whether or not the SNAP payments would be available.
03:46And again, that's up in the air.
03:47So this uncertainty has made it so that it's really difficult to predict where and if additional help is going to be available.
03:56We are turning to people and communities to donate generously.
04:02It's what helped us get through the pandemic and certainly is what is needed now.
04:08So I imagine volunteers then also play a huge role in these alternative operations, so to speak.
04:17I mean, is that reliance on volunteers in small local communities?
04:21Is it sustainable, given the fact that there's still no end in sight at all, really, to this crisis?
04:27Yeah, I think it is sustainable.
04:29And in fact, it's a beautiful thing.
04:31And it's really what helped us get through tough times before.
04:35So people relying on their neighbors is really a powerful thing.
04:40And again, it's really unfortunate that we're in this situation.
04:44It's unfortunate that food insecurity is as high as it is right now.
04:47But I'm pretty convinced that, like in other difficult times, that people will stick together and help each other out and help us get through this difficult time.
04:57As a final question for you, Aaron, the shutdown, of course, is ongoing.
05:03Again, still no end in sight in what's become a familiar kind of bickering.
05:08Both Republicans and Democrats blame each other for the current state of affairs.
05:12That's to say millions of Americans risking serious food insecurity.
05:16In your view, having worked in this field for quite some time now, to who do you attribute the blame this time around?
05:24Well, we need to depoliticize hunger for sure.
05:33Right now, it's Republicans in Congress and the Trump administration that are introducing these disruptions to not only food security, but also other areas throughout the social safety net.
05:48So it's pretty clear at this point where the problem is coming from.
05:56Aaron Trzeski, Director of Advocacy and Public Policy at Food Lifeline in Seattle.
Be the first to comment