Hopelink director: grocery-store model and rising enrollments signal growing need for food assistance in Redmond

Host, the program host, said that “Over 1,300 households in Redmond were estimated to have received food benefits in 2023,” and reported that Hopelink had seen a 15% increase in program enrollment since last July.

Amanda Lopez Castanon, director of food programs at Hopelink, described the agency’s approach as designed to preserve clients’ dignity. “Hopelink's approach to distributing food is to make it a dignified experience for our clients. Our clients shop in a grocery store model where they grab a cart, push it through the market, and select items that they choose for their family. They are not coming in to get a grocery bag, that I get to choose from them. They choose for themselves,” Lopez Castanon said.

Lopez Castanon said enrollment is high because the cost of food has risen. “Well, the enrollment is very high because the cost of food has gone up,” she said. She also warned against assuming a single appearance for food insecurity: “I think the misconception that a lot of people have is that food insecurity looks a certain way, and it does not have a face. The stigma of food insecurity is real, and it keeps people from knowing what it looks like, what it feels like.”

The host listed additional local resources and volunteering opportunities in Redmond, including Open Kitchen, which offers free dine-in or takeout meals at Redmond United Methodist Church every Wednesday evening; Nourishing Networks, a Redmond volunteer group addressing food security and basic needs; and KidVantage, which provides essential care and goods for children experiencing economic insecurity or family disruption.

The segment framed the increase in enrollment and the grocery-store distribution model as part of a broader community response to rising costs. No formal actions or policy decisions were discussed during the program segment.

The program closed by calling attention to volunteer opportunities and local partner organizations that support families in Redmond.