Congressman Rick Larsen's Online Office

Washington, D.C. — Congressman Rick Larsen (WA-02) today congratulated Skagit County Community Action Agency for receiving $894,100 in Washington State Community Development Block Grant funding to expand their Distribution Center which supplies food banks in Skagit County. Larsen has supported federal funding for Community Development Block Grants, which provide local communities with resources to fight poverty and hunger and promote economic development.

On November 13, Larsen wrote to Peter McMillan, Managing Director of Community Development Programs for Washington state, in support of Skagit County Community Action Agency’s application for a Community Development Block Grant.

“In Skagit County, where 20 percent of the citizens rely on local area food banks, a distribution center that increases the quality and quantity of available food is vital to the health and wellbeing of our communities,” wrote Larsen. “We are proud of Skagit County’s agriculture and diversity of produce, and we applaud any effort that seeks to support local agriculture while ending local hunger.”

“The Skagit County Food Bank Distribution Center is a sound investment that will increase the quantity of food and the quality of life for many in Skagit County,” Larsen continued.

In January, Larsen toured Skagit County Community Action Agency’s existing facility and discussed the planned expansion. Larsen also met with volunteers and staff at the Helping Hands Food Bank, which is run out of the same building as the food distribution center and relies on the distribution center to help feed hungry families.

According to Food Lifeline, Washington state’s largest hunger relief agency, around 95,000 families in Washington state suffer from hunger. Every day, approximately three hundred thousand Washington state families are forced to choose between putting food on the table and paying their bills. Thirty-nine percent of those served by Food Lifeline are children.

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