THE RISING COST of food is on everyone’s mind these days. On the Olympic Peninsula, it’s clear how prices have crept up across the board — from eggs to bread to produce. And during tourist season, it becomes even more apparent. Store shelves are picked over, and staples like cheese and milk can be hard to find.
While tourism is vital to our local economy, it also highlights just how fragile our rural supply chains are — and how vulnerable many of our neighbors have become.
For Clallam County’s ALICE households — Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — this is more than an inconvenience. It’s a crisis. These are working families who earn above the federal poverty level, but not enough to afford the basic cost of living.
In our region, that means people who clean hotel rooms, staff restaurants or assist in healthcare. These jobs are essential to both the tourist economy and our day-to-day lives.
Imagine being a single working parent. You’re employed full-time, maybe even holding two jobs, and you’re doing everything “right.” But with housing, transportation and childcare already eating up most of your paycheck, there’s little room in the budget when food prices spike. There’s no cushion for “treats” or name-brand choices. Instead, every trip to the grocery store becomes an exercise in stress, substitution and sacrifice.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, food prices in our region have increased 4.8 percent over the past year. The index for food at home rose 5.3 percent, meaning that groceries — the kind ALICE families rely on — are taking a larger chunk of already strained budgets.
Meanwhile, food away from home rose 3.9 percent, making even the occasional takeout meal a luxury.
In rural areas like Clallam County, where food deserts already exist and access to affordable groceries requires a long drive for many, this inflation hits even harder. For those without reliable transportation, the local corner store may be the only option — and those prices tend to be even higher. Food banks and community meal programs are seeing greater demand, an increase in costs and a loss of state and federal grants.
So, what can you do?
First, recognize that ALICE families are not the exception — they are increasingly the norm.
In Clallam County, more than 40 percent of households are either ALICE or living below the poverty line.
By giving to United Way of Clallam County, you can help strengthen our local food banks. Donations can be designated directly to a food bank, meal program or nonprofit of your choice.
Or you can give to the Community Care Fund. This fund provides grants to our Impact Partners to keep their programs running.
A gift of any amount goes further when it is pooled with those of your friends and neighbors in the Community Care Fund.
Rising food costs aren’t just a line on a receipt. For ALICE families, they represent the daily challenge of choosing between gas and groceries, rent and medicine. And unless we act, more Clallam County families will find themselves making impossible choices at the checkout line.
Join United Way of Clallam County for Celebrate United — a brunch event on Sept. 26 — that will shine a spotlight on food security and the incredible work our local food banks are doing to keep families fed.
It’s a chance to learn, connect and be part of the solution.
Tickets and tables can be purchased online at https://united25.givesmart.com.
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Christy Smith is the CEO of United Way of Clallam County. She can be reached by email at christy@unitedwayclallam.org.
