From peanut butter to applesauce, Washington state stockpiles tons of food for the need ahead

www.seattletimes.com...

After seeing food banks struggle to meet demand once the pandemic hit and the economy tanked, the Washington state Department of Agriculture (WSDA) began preparing to buy and stockpile tons of food to ward off a shortage in the months ahead.

The new stockpile is driven by two major factors: A nearly doubling in demand for food assistance across the state and a national food supply chain that is bogged down amid an overwhelming surge in demand.

As many as 2.2 million Washingtonians — about 30% of the state’s population — are facing food insecurity, according to Katie Rains, WSDA food policy advisor. That’s more than double the 850,000 state residents who sought help from food assistance programs last November, before the pandemic.

hard to argue against stockpiling food
not quite sure how this is the role of the State of Washington. presumably this will all filter down to county food banks etc.
or maybe for Seattle/Tacoma to buy off future rioters.

I seem to recall the government telling people to be weary of anyone keeping two or more weeks of food in their homes about five years back.

a reply to: a325nt

Ah, you must be speaking of those crazy preppers. Those guys are nuts. Planning for bad times and junk.
And in this utopian society no less.

a reply to: ElGoobero

I'm sure it has nothing to do with the looting and rioting that probably destroyed grocery stores and disrupted deliveries to the cities for months.

I wonder how many of those 2.2 million live in those cities. I'm sure there's no correlation there.

a reply to: watchitburn

It would be interesting to find out how things are doing in states without the broad unrest and shut downs plaguing them.

originally posted by: network dude
a reply to: a325nt

Ah, you must be speaking of those crazy preppers. Those guys are nuts. Planning for bad times and junk.
And in this utopian society no less.

originally posted by: network dude
Ah, you must be speaking of those crazy preppers. Those guys are nuts. Planning for bad times and junk.
And in this utopian society no less.

My freezer and pantry are full.


My neighbors are also nice and well fed, just waiting to be harvested.

Our government used to stockpile a lot of food and give it to the needy to rotate it. I liked the welfare cheese, it was pretty good. Friends of mine got it and I actually worked the truck occasionally handing it out.

Tucson and AZ is mostly ok Stores max stocked except for the MISSMANAGED walmart food only store .
THING IS it IS not about teh LOOTING or the RIOTS .

IT is ABOUT THE FACT the country was shut down 6 weeks then 4 MORE here in AZ
and a TON of places went UNDER and THE EXTRA UNEMPLOYMENT ended only 300 a week Now .

And the Fact EVEN with what IS OPEN they are Only at 25 % capacity Yes AZ has the same problem Its NOT a store shortage ITS a NO MONEY NO JOBS NO hope .
Mien while Trump thought it was A Great IDEA to SAY NO HELP NO WAY now spin spin away when there are a dozen ways He COULD have excepted even the 2.3 Trillion package as if Republicans don't Have pork in for BIG business .

Trump could have also BLOCKED less Important Democrat's Financing BILLS as well getting the 800 billion saved from Other area's .

originally posted by: midnightstar
Tucson and AZ is mostly ok Stores max stocked except for the MISSMANAGED walmart food only store .
THING IS it IS not about teh LOOTING or the RIOTS .

IT is ABOUT THE FACT the country was shut down 6 weeks then 4 MORE here in AZ
and a TON of places went UNDER and THE EXTRA UNEMPLOYMENT ended only 300 a week Now .

And the Fact EVEN with what IS OPEN they are Only at 25 % capacity Yes AZ has the same problem Its NOT a store shortage ITS a NO MONEY NO JOBS NO hope .
Mien while Trump thought it was A Great IDEA to SAY NO HELP NO WAY now spin spin away when there are a dozen ways He COULD have excepted even the 2.3 Trillion package as if Republicans don't Have pork in for BIG business .

Trump could have also BLOCKED less Important Democrat's Financing BILLS as well getting the 800 billion saved from Other area's .

Can't the president do a line item veto anymore? I just hear that the president doesn't approve a bill or approves it. Maybe the House will not accept line item vetos, they have to approve them I guess if they want the bill passed.

I dont know Trump Just stopped this Bill Dead .
Spinning wont change that and my POINT on how he could stop OTHER democratic BILLS that want MONEY to get back that extra 800 BILLION is also TRUE .

But ATS spinning does Not change the fact that Most Of the Country is in a very bad way Over this ON going lockdown .
With Evictions projected to REACH AS HIGH as 10 MILLION country wide .

People needed help a month back and say what You want Nancy did compromise and was WILL to keep working on a Compromise It is ON TRUMP no one else when HE said NO more trying to compromise and THAT is The ONLY thing that matter to 30 MILLION desperate people INCLUDING the conserve MID class and the seniors who BOTH need that same help .

No republicans are out of work because of the lock down ?

At this point his base You are all that is left The day he said he can Grab a women's @@@@ ... was the day he lost the female vote true or not women don't take Kindly to being sex objects .

The day HE said Looting starts shooting starts He lost the minority vote . The fact is KILLING someone who is stealing is NOT what the law says police should be doing . Theft IS NOT a death sentience .
And saying it like that says a lot to BLM .

He Lost the Military VOTE when HE said NO mail in should be counted it will all BE cheating for THE very First time a Republican has Lost the Military vote .

Just who does he have left besides You ?

a reply to: midnightstar

That's because the Democrats want a lot of things in it that aren't related to relief for people. They want mail-in voting measures and refuse to budge without them which is why they aren't moving until after the election. Once the voting is done, those items the Democrats are sticking on become a non-issue, and then the only things the Democrats will stick on are bailouts for state governments that have been mismanaging their budgets for years, but it's easier to bargain down that number instead of having to work on two items, one of which is a lot of money that can be used to create election day chaos.

and ? so do the republicans par for the course .
Dont matter much to a hungry person .
Trumps OWN Hotels did get money BILLIONS of dollars .

But dont matter to me Trump will lose he wants to flush 30 Million people away that is on him .
All tehy know is They may not even have a place to live thanks To Trump .

Now Trump could have just OOO i don't keep compromising until the Bill was good for both sides

((((((Nancy has been and has cut more out each time so were the republicans >)))) If Not for Trump a Bill would have been passed In the next couple weeks AS BOTH sides wanted Credit for the election boost that would bring . Till trump stopped it cold .
Trump has made his bed good thing he needs the rest .

Almost all the Republicans are asking what the heck is Trump doing they and the democrat's were very close to agreeing

On the central Oregon coast, we haven't really seen any shortages of food the entire time. I expect that will be true in the coming months as well. I know a lot of folks here have been donating to the food banks, so they should be well stocked for those who may need it.

IT IS NOT a shortage OG FOOD in the stores while things are a little shaky here and there sore shelves will be stocked BUT when people have no money a fully stocked store shelf does them no good .
10 MILLION on the verge OF evictions AKA HOMELESS living with relatives and more in the streets .

Rent prices is many citys Crashing as NO one can afford the rent any more .
LOTS of empty apartments here listed and Stay LISTED as NO one has the money to rent them .
Same listings for over a MONTH I check Craigslist .

a reply to: midnightstar

Why is it suddenly Trump's fault that the governments of certain states mismanaged their tax dollars because Trump personally is wealthy?

I don't understand that attitude.

That's like saying because my family manages our money well and my sister's family does not. We somehow owe her something which we don't. That's not to say we aren't generous on occasion, but it's not our responsibility to take care of her family, either because she can't get her act together. It's not she doesn't have access to the resources or is unable. She just makes bad choices.

For all that say ... California brags about having one of the largest economies in the world, they're also one of the states that never has enough money. You tell me how that works out? Why do they deserve a federal bailout? They've always been richer than all the rest of the country, so why are we supposed to bail them out? They're like the pro sports star that went broke after making millions every year.

a reply to: midnightstar

You can't find a place to rent in my area and there are very few homes left for sale. People fled the cities and came to my area.

All the people everywhere that poo pooed the idea of stock piling food and figured preppers were nuts can now face the music. THIS IS WHY PEOPLE PREP!!!!!!! IN CASE OF CATASTROPHIC OR TRYING CIRCUMSTANCES.

There is nothing wrong in doing it and it is logical. The school I have worked at for three years now just got notice on the decrease of commodities the school will receive. Most all schools in the United States get free food from the government and orders are place for the desired food items against an annual credit amount. I believe our 'gift' from the government is roughly about $13,000 annually. Some items available are ground beef, diced chicken, canned and/or frozen green beans, corn, peas, mixed veggies, broccoli. Also canned brown beans, a variety of canned fruits such as apricots, pears, peaches, mixed fruit. Some frozen fruit such as frozen strawberries and frozen diced peaches. We also get the sliced American cheese, boxes and boxes of it.

All the items are of great quality and the commodity truck arrives once a month. The items above aren't the only items offered but it is what this particular school uses a lot of.

Anyway, the reason I am mentioning the above about the school is because the driver who delivered our commodities today told us no more cheese, no more frozen fruit and iffy on the ground beef. Now the frozen fruit doesn't bother me the cheese.....THE CHEESE.....The government always has free cheese. NO MORE FREE CHEEESE......AAAAARRRRRGH. WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE!

No, we're not. Because some of us have stocked up on items. We've peeled, chopped, diced, dehydrated, frozen and canned foods, we've bought extra when possible and stashed and stored when and where we could. Rice and beans are still cheap. Buy a dehydrator. Dry some spicy peppers, apple slices, veggies and fruit of choice. Create your own smorgasbord of food you want to have around. It's harvest season and people are begging others to take their overflow. Squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, all kinds of garden delights.

originally posted by: a325nt
I seem to recall the government telling people to be weary of anyone keeping two or more weeks of food in their homes about five years back.

Is that true? More and more over the past 10-20 years, I've seen the government putting out information about and encouraging of prepping, in luding suggestions of stockpiling food. Maybe different departments, different messages?