LYNNWOOD—The Lynnwood Food Bank held its annual Food is Love fundraiser event at Dave and Buster’s in Lynnwood on Sunday, October 19.
The event ran from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. and featured a “Grill and Chill” barbecue buffet, unlimited free play of games until closing, and a raffle/silent auction on baskets donated from local businesses. All proceeds went towards helping the Food Bank nourish Lynnwood neighbors and strengthen its community.
“All proceeds go back into our programs to fight hunger,” said Alissa Jones, Executive Director of Lynnwood Food Bank. “Your support makes the difference between families going to bed hungry and families having enough to eat.”
In 2024, Lynnwood Food Bank served more than 175,000 people and distributed over 4.2 million pounds of food. Yet the need continues to rise, Jones continued, with many families making impossible choices between paying rent, medical bills, or putting food on the table. With SNAP set to pause on November 1 due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, consider donating to the Lynnwood Food Bank.
“Tonight was a great event at Dave and Buster’s celebrating the Lynnwood Food Bank,” Lynnwood City Councilman George Hurst, who attended the event, told the Lynnwood Times. “In 2024, over 175,000 families were provided food for their tables…. amazing. The Lynnwood Food Bank is a great organization for the community.”
The event on October 19 directly supported programs that provide nutritious, culturally relevant foods and vital services to those who need them most, said Jones.
Speaking at the fundraiser was former Lynnwood City Council member and current Snohomish County PUD Commissioner Julieta Altamirano-Crosby who shared the role food has played in finding belonging in Washington State, after immigrating from Guerrero, Mexico – through grounding familiar aromas, cooking, and subsequently realizing the impactful connector food plays between different people and cultures. Interim Superintendent of Verdant Health Commission, Sarah Zabel, also addressed attendees.
“Food is how we know about who we are, where we come from, and how we share ourselves with others. Food is memory, food is identity,” said Snohomish County PUD Commissioner Julieta Altamirano-Crosby.
Crosby reminisced that, while growing up, her and her family would spend hours in the kitchen preparing dishes like mole which she said, requires “patience and love.” Now, In Washington, thousands of miles away from where these recipes began, she prepares dishes like these with her own family, reminding her that “food connects generations.”
“When I share these dishes with friends, and neighbors, from different cultures I realize that food builds bridges,” Altamriano-Crosby continued.
The Lynnwood Food Bank fundraiser comes at a time when food banks across the region are in desperate need of funding.
Earlier this month, beginning October 1, nonprofits like Food Banks began paying taxes of up to 10% on services ranging from advertising to auctioneers — services that were previously tax-free.
Washington’s food banks, already under pressure from record demand due to inflation, job losses, and a 40% drop in donations, are now facing additional financial hits due to the “biggest tax increase in state history” with the passage of Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill (ESSB) 5814 in April 2025 by state legislators.
In addition to this, on November 1, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits – which approximately one million Washingtonians rely upon to purchase food – will face $186 billion in cuts, and stricter requirements, under President Donald Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill.’
While many could see reductions in their benefits – or be required to meet new work requirements to keep their benefits, forcing families to scramble to afford childcare – an estimated 137,000 Washingtonians could lose their benefits altogether, according to Congressman Rick Larsen’s Office, placing more pressure on local food banks to fill the gap left in food insecurity challenges.
The Trump administration also cancelled $1.5 billion in funding, back in March, for schools and food banks making it harder to purchase food from local farmers and suppliers. In nearby Whatcom County, for example, the Bellingham Food Bank had to cancel $200,000 in contracts to local farmers who are contracted to grow food for their local food bank.
“We’re busier than we have ever been. In 2024 we served 175,000 people, that’s more than four times an increase since 2019. We’re buying more food than we’ve ever had to buy but the prices of that food are not going down,” said Lynnwood Food Bank Director Alyssa Jones. “I might be able to spend $1,000 on produce every week but the amount of produce I’m getting is getting less. It’s stretching our budget thin, it’s stretching our staffing thin, and our capacity is completely an issue with our building being too small with the amount of people we need to feed.”
Back in August Jones brought these concerns forward to Congressman Larsen and Washington State Governor Bob Ferguson during a visit to Lynnwood Elementary, where the two law makers handed out food to hungry kids before hearing from stakeholders how SNAP cuts will directly impact their ability to serve their community.
During this visit Jones told a harrowing story about two grade school-aged kids riding up to the food bank, two hours after distribution ended, saying they were hungry and they didn’t have any food at home.
“That’s not something you should ever have to do,” said Jones.
In Snohomish County, the Edmonds Food Bank saw a 27% increase in the number of people they served in 2024 compared to the previous year. That same year, the Washington State Department of Agriculture reported that one in four Washingtonians visited a food bank.
At the Everett Food Bank delivered a stark message: “Nobody wants to be the last person handing out the last bag of food while there’s still a line.”
Though the State of Washington is in a $15 billion shortfall, Governor Ferguson still allocated approximately $128 million for food insecurity in the form of grants, with millions more allocated to other social services, in his budget passed back in May.
The Lynnwood Food Bank fundraising event on October 19 was sponsored by Dave and Buster’s Lynnwood (Platinum), Anheuser-Bush (Gold), Edmonds College (Silver), Lynnwood Chamber of Commerce, and Signarama Lynnwood (Bronze).
Author: Kienan Briscoe
