WSU Extension outlines farm‑to‑food‑bank and farm‑to‑school efforts, warns of SNAP‑Ed cutbacks

Clea Rome, director of WSU Extension, and the extension’s community health lead told the board on March 17 that their Farm to Food Bank and Farm to School efforts have increased local procurement and strengthened food access but face sustainability challenges after federal SNAP‑Ed funding was eliminated.

Presenters summarized several program results: Extension coordinated purchases from more than 20 farms and worked with over 20 food banks and access organizations in the region in 2025; Farm to School procurement in the 2025–26 school year purchased a little over $5,000 in local food across seven farms (about 2,000 pounds) for participating districts; and garden‑based education reached hundreds of students through seven school gardens. The Port Angeles, Crescent and Quileute Tribal School districts were named as current purchasers in the county program.

Speakers said the loss of SNAP‑Ed funding in fall 2025 required eliminating roughly half of the program’s staff FTE. Extension is continuing core activities with county support and grants but described a fragile funding mix: a now‑canceled federal local food purchasing agreement and small local fundraising (about $5,000–$7,000 annually) leave a gap compared with recent multi‑hundred‑thousand‑dollar grants used to buy local product. "We've had SNAP‑Ed funding to support our community health program; we had to eliminate about half of our staff FTE because we lost that funding," the extension representative said.

Board members asked about sustainability and suggested ways county departments might help (communications, cross‑posting, training, and potential targeted investment to preserve staff capacity and local procurement). Presenters asked the board to consider supporting staffing and capacity that enable ongoing local purchasing, school garden education, and food‑preservation training for community partners.