The number of Washingtonians facing hunger has doubled since start of the pandemic
The number of people facing hunger in Washington state appears to have doubled amid the coronavirus pandemic, and by the end of the year potentially 1 in 5 Washingtonians will be experiencing hunger.
Those were some of the numbers leaders of the state Department of Agriculture and the state’s largest food banks gave reporters at a press conference Thursday about food assistance needs across Washington as unemployment claims have skyrocketed.
“The number of people seeking food at food banks and pantries doubled up to 1.6 million and continued to climb to over 2 million people per month,” said Derek Sandison, director of the state Department of Agriculture.
There were 1.12 million people in the state who sought food assistance in the fiscal year that ended in June 2019. The current estimate is that 2.2 million are facing food insecurity.
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