Washington state has ended its COVID-19 state of emergency, and that's having effects on the public benefits people were relying on to get through the pandemic.

The state of emergency came to a halt at the end of October. The declaration had lifted some of the more onerous restrictions for benefits.

Christina Wong, director of public policy and advocacy with Northwest Harvest, said temporary expansions of relief also were connected to the health emergency.

"People might have fewer resources to help pay for essentials," said Wong. "That will then mean they'll be considering skipping meals in order to make savings to continue paying for those other really important needs."

Wong said people still are in a precarious position, struggling with higher prices at the grocery store and other costs of living such as rent and transportation.

She noted that people will rely more on food banks, but that pantries are feeling a squeeze from higher prices as well.

Marcy Bowers is the executive director of the Statewide Poverty Action Network, based in Seattle.

She said some of the waivers in place - such as suspending reviews for the Aged, Blind, and Disabled and Housing and Essential Needs referral programs - provided more flexibility and time for the people who rely on these programs.

She added that it also boosted confidence in the system.

"Many people told me that they felt like the state systems trusted them for the first time in a long time," said Bowers, "that they didn't have to continuously prove how much they needed something."

The emergency food allotments that boosted the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - or SNAP - also were tied to states' emergency declarations, leaving the future of these additional benefits uncertain.

Wong said fortunately, there could be a way to fix that.

"The good news," said Wong, "is that there are lots of examples out there about how other states who have ended their state public-health emergency declaration have still been able to get approval to provide emergency SNAP allotments by connecting it to the federal emergency health declaration."

However, Wong noted that the federal emergency declaration is set to expire in February.

Bowers said the additional benefits provided during the pandemic have helped many people who were struggling.

She said she's concerned that ending those resources abruptly could be like pulling the rug out from under them and leave them worse off than before the pandemic.

Bowers said there are positive lessons to be learned from the response to this public health emergency.

"Many of the things that we did better during the pandemic were a result of waivers and, sort of, a suspension of the rules," said Bowers. "But we do have the ability via public policymaking to change those rules so that we can better serve people."

Groups working to end hunger in Nebraska are reaching out to all parts of the state to train food insecure people to advocate for others facing similar issues.

The advocacy group Nebraska Appleseed's Food Access Community Advocates Cohort educates people over nine months how to build advocacy, community organizing and storytelling skills, so they are better equipped to understand policies affecting the state's most food insecure people.

Megan Hamann, senior community organizer of food and nutrition access for Nebraska Appleseed, said having experienced hunger puts them in a better position to understand and talk about policy issues affecting hungry people in Nebraska.

"They have this lived experience that is really useful, I think, when it comes to making sure that our decision-makers know the impact of the policies they are considering," Hamann explained.

Nebraska Appleseed will start taking applications for new program participants Friday.

Hamann pointed out the number of food insecure people in Nebraska is greater now than it was during the pandemic, when demand at food banks was already high.

"I think with the passage of the recent federal budget reconciliation bill, we are looking forward to a period of time where that need is going to reach new extremes," Hamann projected.

This will be the fourth year of the cohort program. Many past participants have taken leadership roles in their communities and are now leading local efforts to educate others about the best ways to address food insecurity.


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It has been about three weeks since the Rowena Fire in Oregon's Columbia Gorge was put out, and the local food bank remains vital to recovery efforts.

The fire burned 3,600 acres in Wasco County, destroying 56 homes and 100 other structures.

Breen Goodwin, executive director of the Columbia Gorge Food Bank, said they are always prepared to assist during disasters with ready-to-eat emergency food boxes and water. She added many displaced families are living with relatives, in hotels, or camping and remain uncertain about their next steps.

"It is difficult in a community of our size to absorb housing needs for that many families who have lost homes," Goodwin acknowledged. "That next step of the recovery process of truly: 'How are those families being supported with more long term recovery efforts?'"

Breen pointed out the food bank has been serving as a distribution site to hand out supplies from Adventist Health of the Columbia Gorge and other organizations who donated nonfood items, including air purifiers, generators, hygiene supplies and stuffed animals for kids.

One of the biggest challenges, Breen noted, is keeping a supply of drinking water flowing once people start to return home.

"We're able to drop full pallets of water directly into the impacted communities because most of the time the drinking water is no longer safe until enough testing has been done," Breen explained.

The Columbia Gorge Food Bank is one of 21 regional food banks in the Oregon Food Bank Network. Breen emphasized the number of people visiting the food bank rose to about 6,500 per month during the pandemic and has remained at that level. People can visit OregonFoodFinder.org to find pantry locations in their area.

Indiana families are navigating the summer without SUN Bucks, a federal grocery benefit which delivered $120 per child last summer.

Gov. Mike Braun's administration chose not to participate in 2025, citing prior planning gaps.

Mark Lynch, director of advocacy for the Indy Hunger Network, said the funding blackout hit the state hard.

"We really are feeling and seeing the impacts of not having the SUN Bucks program this year," Lynch emphasized. "That $120 per summer for those students that they had last year have created some longer lines at our food pantries."

State leaders said administrative hurdles kept Indiana out of the program. Supporters argued skipping SUN Bucks puts pressure on food banks and leaves low-income families with fewer options.

Lynch noted to help bridge the gap, Indiana expanded its summer meal sites to include prepackaged meals, which do not require daily pickups.

"But there's school starting soon and they're giving their workers some time off for the summer, so that might be ending in the next week or two," Lynch explained. "That's just an example and that happens around the state in rural, suburban, and in city communities."

The Indy Hunger Network and other partners continue to support Hoosiers through tools like the Community Compass app, which shows nearby meal sites and grocery assistance programs.


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