About half of Orcas Island residents qualify for food assistance

||| FROM RICK RHOADS for ORCAS ISLAND FOOD BANK |||

In response to the pandemic, The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) —a federal program that provides food to low-income Americans at no cost — raised its maximum income limit from 185% of the federal poverty level to 400%. The resulting expanded access to the Orcas Island Food Bank has had a profound effect on Islanders’ lives. As one Food Bank customer put it, “You enable me and my kids to eat well and still pay our bills. It’s beautiful…sometimes I cry.”

Data in a recent report by the San Juan County Economic Development Council suggests that about half of Orcas Island residents have incomes below 400% of poverty level, thereby qualifying to receive free food at the Orcas Island Food Bank (OIFB). This table shows the maximum income based on the number of persons in a household.

At the OIFB, we estimate that about 1,300 Orcas households with 2,600 individuals meet the TEFAP income requirements. About four times as many people come to our food bank each week compared with the “before times,” and we have increased our food distribution hours from 2.5 per week to 16.5. Nevertheless, we believe that fewer than half of island residents who qualify take advantage of our services.

The number of customers keeps rising, though, as word spreads about the availability of fresh produce and protein, much of it locally grown or raised; about our work to offer culturally relevant foods to customers of all ages, ethnicities, and dietary needs, and the warm welcome our customers receive from our staff and volunteers. Accordingly, we keep working to strengthen our staff, our volunteer force, our storage capacity, our equipment, and our relationships with other key players in guaranteeing the stability of our food supply, even during distribution disruptions related to the pandemic, the ferry system, or any other cause, foreseen or unforeseen.

The goal of TEFAP, which is run by individual states, is to ensure that no one lacks proper nutrition. There is no citizenship or legal residency requirement. On first visit to OIFB, customers are asked to register with their name and address and to self-declare that they meet the income qualification. No proof is required, nor is a Social Security Number requested. There’s no paperwork. Even a customer who prefers not to register receives food.