Operators of food banks in King and Pierce counties are protesting federal cuts of funding for programs that help put meals on the tables of people struggling to get enough food, including seniors.

As of May 15, U.S. House of Representatives’ Agriculture Committee was considering a new round of changes to the SNAP (food stamps) program that would reduce federal funding to administer the program, and also cut actual food benefits. States would be called on to make up for the federal reductions. 

In Seattle, elderly adults, families with children, and disabled persons “trying to make ends meet will bear the impact of these proposed changes,” said Otis Pimpleton, interim director of Rainier Valley Food Bank. He said food banks and other organizations “will need to step in to support our neighbors feeling the brunt of cuts. But these organizations are also feeling economic pressures.”

Nourish Pierce County, a network of food banks that serves 67 percent of food-insecure people in the county, has said in earlier statements that cuts in government funding would have “devastating consequences” for its clients.

“The people we serve—working families, college students, military members, and seniors on fixed incomes—are already making tough sacrifices. Federal food assistance exists to ensure that no one goes hungry,” and cuts in the funding “will leave our most vulnerable neighbors with fewer options,” said Sue Potter, chief executive officer of Nourish Pierce County. 

Half of all Nourish Pierce County clients are children or seniors. In 2024, the agency’s 21 food bank sites and mobile services helped 66,807 people who visited an average of six times.