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Food-bank leaders urge Legislature to keep direct food-purchasing and student nutrition priorities
Summary
Food-bank directors and anti-hunger advocates told the House Finance Committee that food insecurity remains high in Alaska, urged continued funding for direct food purchases and school nutrition programs, and described distribution challenges to remote communities.
Juneau — Representatives of regional food banks and anti-hunger organizations urged state lawmakers on March 14 to maintain and extend funding for direct food purchasing and student nutrition programs, saying hunger is rising and remote distribution remains costly and difficult.
Daniel Parks, general manager of the Southeast Alaska Food Bank in Juneau, told the committee roughly 1 in 8 Alaskans and 1 in 6 children face food insecurity and said demand at his organization is rising. "Please consider funding initiatives that feed our children," Parks said, and urged support for direct-purchase grants and summer and school-meal programs.
The nut graf: Food-bank testimony linked food insecurity to other policy priorities heard in the hearing — education, behavioral health and housing — and asked the committee to fund programs such as the Food Security Grant (Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development) and the Food Bank and Pantry Relief grant (Department of Health). Parks described creative, often ad-hoc distribution methods to reach off‑road and remote communities; he said transporting food across Southeast Alaska typically requires additional logistical work and expense.
Michelle Chase, board president of the Valdez Food Bank, said her organization provided nearly 4,951 distributions last year and has seen a 30% increase over three to four years. Speakers asked lawmakers to keep food-security funding and to advance related bills that would increase access to SNAP and summer meal programs.
Ending: Witnesses asked the committee to make direct food purchases and student nutrition programming budget priorities to reduce hunger and secondary costs to other public systems.
