Symposium on Food Insecurity in the Wenatchee Valley

Our Valley, Our Future (OVOF) is diving into the issue of food insecurity in the Wenatchee Valley at a symposium on September 11, 2025. The gathering will feature presentations from local experts and community members in a deeper look at the increasing challenges for the regional food system.

Food insecurity is defined as the lack of consistent access to enough nutritious food for a healthy life.

The problem seems to be fairly well defined in the region, according to data and surveys. The symposium will discuss the challenges here and probe ways the region can build local capacity and increase access to healthy food.

Get our free mobile app

Steve Maher with OVOF reports Feeding America, a national nonprofit network of food banks and meal programs, estimates that 14 percent of Chelan County’s residents are food insecure, and 13 percent of Douglas County’s residents.

The Washington State Food Security Survey Report from the University of Washington and Washington State University reported that nearly three-quarters of food-insecure respondents regularly restrict the quality and quantity of food consumed.

According to the United Way, 40 percent of Chelan County households and 41.3 percent of Douglas County households didn’t make enough to cover the basic necessities in 2023. The cost of getting by for a typical Chelan County family of four is $6,691 a month, or $80,292 a year. For a Douglas County family of four, it is $6,583 a month, or $78,996 a year, according to the United Way estimates. The assessment calculates the cost of housing, food, transportation, healthcare, childcare, and other essentials.

The food distribution network serving Chelan and Douglas counties includes the Chelan Douglas Community Action Council, Upper Valley MEND, Chelan Valley HOPE, Community for the Advancement of Family Education (CAFÉ), several food banks and pantries, school districts, and other nonprofits.

The food these organizations distribute comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the state Department of Agriculture, Northwest Harvest, Second Harvest, farmers markets, gleaning projects at local farms, community gardens, and individual donations.

How is there food insecurity in the agricultural-based economy of North Central Washington?

Surprisingly, many rural areas in NCW are classified as “food deserts,” where residents have limited access to affordable and nutritious food due to a lack of grocery stores, access to transportation, poverty, and unemployment. Individuals in these "food deserts" often rely on fast food or convenience stores.

Spikes in the cost of living, including higher grocery prices, have been a key factor in the increased demand. The area's food banks are trying to address the increased demand by limiting hours of operation and how much food they hand out. Upper Valley MEND has distributed as much food through July 2025 as it did in all of 2024.

Those receiving food stamps through SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, are no longer getting higher subsidies as during the pandemic. New eligibility requirements could put about 170,000 people at risk of losing access to food stamps due to new SNAP eligibility work requirements.

Some advocates, however, are predicting the new SNAP rules, plus cuts to other social services, will lead more people to seek donated food and other assistance. Federal and state cutbacks are also reducing food shipments to emergency food providers and funding for them to buy perishables.

All of these developments have local emergency food providers bracing for another increase in demand in fall 2025 and in 2026.

The OVOF Symposium on Food Insecurity is on Sep. 11th from 10am to 2pm in the Maguire Center at Wenatchee Valley College. The cost to attend the symposium is $10, which includes a lunch prepared with locally grown foods. People can register at OVOFsymposium3.eventbrite.com