By Girmay Zahilay
In the coming days, thousands of families across King County could open their refrigerators and find more empty space than food. That is what happens when SNAP benefits are cut off through federal inaction. Washington, D.C., is gridlocked and has chosen not to protect the most basic human need. (On Friday, a federal judge ordered the Trump Administration to release SNAP funds, but it’s too early to know if that order will be followed.)
I know what it feels like to depend on SNAP. My family relied on food stamps when I was a child growing up in South Seattle. Our government has many responsibilities, but none is more basic than ensuring people can eat. When that foundation crumbles, everything else follows. Hunger forces families into impossible choices and too often pushes them toward homelessness. This reality drove me to begin my post-college career doing anti-hunger work through the Congressional Hunger Center.
King County can’t wait for permission to keep people fed. We must step up.
Here is what that action looks like.
First, we must create an emergency food assistance surge. King County has a network of more than 100 neighborhood food pantries and community meal programs that can immediately be infused with funds to buy and distribute groceries, baby formula, bulk staples, and culturally specific foods without delay. The county already partners with local growers and hunger relief organizations and can rapidly expand these grants during an emergency.
Second, I am working with King County Council Budget Chair Rod Dembowski to include additional food security funding in the county’s budget. This will supplement Governor Bob Ferguson’s recent support for food banks while federal SNAP funding remains at risk.
Third, we can launch a rapid grocery voucher program to deliver one-time emergency funds to families in need. We can help households stretch every dollar by issuing short-term grocery vouchers through trusted partners and by expanding fruit and vegetable incentives that add value when people use Basic Food benefits. State law already supports these programs, and King County can invest local dollars and public health capacity to scale them quickly.
Fourth, we must protect people from falling into homelessness. When food runs short, rent and utilities are next. The county can channel emergency assistance through our Department of Community and Human Services to keep families housed and the lights on. That includes short-term rental support, utility assistance, and bridge funding for those one bill away from losing their home. The county already administers prevention funds through established providers and can scale up that network during a federal funding lapse.
Fifth, we can use our public health authority to coordinate a countywide response to this crisis. The Board of Health can set policy and align hospitals, clinics, school districts, and community groups to screen for food insecurity, make direct referrals, and ensure transportation gets food where it is needed most.
Finally, the county can cut red tape and go where the need is greatest. We should deploy mobile food distribution in partnership with King County Metro and community groups, bring pop-up benefits navigation into schools and clinics, and place culturally competent navigators in the communities most affected. The county can also expand outreach to help eligible families enroll in or stay connected to Basic Food and other emergency programs. Washington’s Basic Food program is our state’s SNAP. We will help every eligible neighbor access it, and we will fill the gaps when D.C. fails.
King County has broad authority to protect the health and welfare of its residents. Hunger does not pause while politicians argue. The federal government has declined to use contingency funds to bridge SNAP during the government shutdown. Courts are still weighing whether the administration can legally suspend benefits, but families cannot eat legal arguments. Our job is to protect people first and keep them whole until federal support resumes.
We will pay for these emergency measures by prioritizing the basics in the county budget: Food, housing stability, and crisis response. We will coordinate with state partners who are already moving funding to food banks, and we will track outcomes in the open so the public can see dollars turning into meals, stable households, and fewer shelter intakes.
We should also be honest about the limitations of local action. King County cannot replace the scale and reach of the federal safety net. SNAP is a national program, federally funded for a reason. Local governments cannot print money or permanently substitute for programs of that magnitude. If the federal government and the President continue to strip away these resources, the consequences will be severe and long-lasting. I am deeply grateful to members of Washington’s federal delegation who are fighting to protect SNAP and other essential safety-net programs. Their leadership and advocacy remind us that even in times of gridlock, there are voices in Congress still standing up for working families.
My commitment is to step up, triage urgent needs, and bridge people through this crisis, but not to pretend local government alone can make families whole. We will do everything in our power, and we will keep pressing Washington, D.C., to restore and strengthen the benefits that millions depend on.
This is what leadership looks like when the federal government refuses to act. We take responsibility for what we can control. We refuse to let children go hungry on our watch. And we do it in partnership with the community because trust and collaboration move faster than bureaucracy.
I have lived the difference that a bag of groceries and a stable home can make. If I have the honor of serving as King County Executive, my first directive will be simple: bring urgency, feed people, and keep people housed. Treat hunger and homelessness as emergencies that demand immediate action, not as talking points for the next news cycle. That is how we keep our community strong, healthy, and ready to build a future where no one is left behind.
Girmay Zahilay is a member of the Metropolitan King County Council.