The Whatcom County Council will soon vote on a proposed plan to strengthen the county’s food system — but not without first seeking additional input from farmers, council members say.
The Whatcom County Food System Plan aims to improve food access, equity and sustainability in the county’s food system by supporting waterways and land, fishers, farmers, distributors, manufacturers and processors, retailers and individual consumers.
At an April 25 meeting, council members unanimously voted to hold a resolution for the plan in committee after receiving a letter of concern from Whatcom Family Farmers and Whatcom County Farm Bureau.
“As a farmer, as a Farm Bureau member, as someone who represents a lot of people in the rural community, I would like to make sure that our plan is as supported as it can be,” council member Ben Elenbaas said at the Public Works and Health Committee meeting. “If it’s not supported by Farm Bureau and family friends who represent hundreds and hundreds of farmers and the vast majority of acreage in Whatcom County’s ag zone … that seems counterproductive to a food system plan that’s going to work well.”
The letter, signed by Whatcom Family Farmers Executive Director Fred Likkel and Whatcom County Farm Bureau President Troy Lenssen, identified nine concerns, citing a disconnect on issues such as economic challenges, land resources and farming practices.
The council intends to cast a final vote on the resolution at the beginning of June after the Whatcom County Food System Committee’s May 23 meeting, where they hope committee members will engage with members of the farming community to make necessary changes to the plan.
Riley Sweeney, volunteer chair of the Whatcom County Food System Committee, said the committee conducted more than 200 interviews and hosted more than 35 outreach events with farmers, restaurant workers, school nutritionists, food banks and other groups to inform development of the plan. Whatcom County Farm Bureau did not engage in these initial outreach efforts.
The food plan emerged in response to issues highlighted by Whatcom County’s 2021 Community Food Assessment.
“It is clear that our community food system needs support,” Sweeney said in an interview. “Not enough people are getting into the farming industry, our food banks are struggling to keep the doors open. Whatcom County needed to take a big picture approach to improving our food system.”
A recent study of 5,052 Washington residents indicates continued food insecurity in the state, with a combined 44% of Whatcom County respondents reporting “low food security” and “very low food security.” According to the USDA Food Access Research Atlas, nearly all of the east side of the county is made up of low-income census tracts with limited access to supermarkets, or areas commonly known as food deserts.
At the same time, food banks are scrambling to keep up. In March, Bellingham Food Bank Executive Director Mike Cohen recently appealed to the Whatcom County Council for an additional $1 million in funding, citing unprecedented levels of need.
With these issues in mind, council members said they view the decision to hold the resolution as an additional step toward creating a sound plan that will serve the county.
“Like many of our amazing county plans, I don’t want this one to collect dust on the shelf somewhere,” council member Kaylee Galloway said. “So I hope that it’s out and highlighted and sticky notes and all the right things to get these things moving forward. And I hope that our friends with Whatcom Family Farmers and Whatcom County Farm Bureau will be at the table.”
