Uncertain Economies Hit Kids Hardest

Economic policy can seem very remote to average citizens, but last week’s change in tariff rates and trade policy brought home the realities of how life in a global economy touches our lives at every level.  None of those impacts is more acutely felt than the rising costs of food.  If a family is already struggling to put groceries in the refrigerator (assuming they have a refrigerator), how many more sacrifices must be made as food prices escalate?

Last week, NPR reported on the 10 food items most likely to be impacted by tariffs, among them meat, seafood, fruit, coffee, rice, cheese, and chocolate.  The article also highlights that, even though the ingredients for many products are produced in the U.S., the materials for their packaging – like aluminum for cans (produced in China) – will now cost over 36% more.  These costs are passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.  While many of us tighten our belts and maybe switch to a cheaper brand of cheese, families struggling with poverty and food insecurity are foregoing cheese altogether.

For the 1 in 6 kids in Washington state who experience food insecurity, asking them to tighten their belts and wait for the long-term outcome of a new economic policy is unrealistic.  Kids are hungry now, they need adequate nutrition to grow and thrive now, their future outcomes are being affected by the hunger they are experiencing now.

Backpack Brigade and dozens of similar organizations across the country are doing everything they can to hold hunger at bay for the 14 million children experiencing food insecurity in the world’s wealthiest country.  But we, too, have been feeling the effects of inflation and uncertain economic policy.  Program Manager Sam Hoyt says, “Prices for every product have increased a minimum of 10%, for some items as much as 50% since the start of the school year.  We’ve especially experienced inflation on our culturally significant items from Mexico that go into our Hispanic bags.”  He adds, “Three of our Hispanic menu items are no longer available.  Our supplier closed its doors permanently, and we can’t find an affordable replacement for these products.” 

Ninety percent of the product we source is manufactured in America, but many of the ingredients and packaging sourced by those manufacturers is of foreign origin.  Uncertainty is making many of our suppliers nervous, says Hoyt, not only because of price increases but because of potential disruptions to the supply chain.  Trade embargos will only make the situation worse, a potentially catastrophic impediment akin to what the world experienced in 2020-2021.  For now, manufacturers and suppliers are taking a wait and see approach, relying on inventory stocks that can no longer be exported and selling them domestically.  But when that inventory runs out…?  We’ll see.

All this to say that, as you are absorbing the news out of Washington, DC, keep in mind that big policies impact the little people here in Washington State the most.  None of the children we serve voted; most couldn’t even tell you the name of the President.  What they think about, all weekend long, is that they’re hungry and they need something to eat.  Keep them in mind as you tighten your own belt, and make sure that our most vulnerable neighbors don’t have to suffer as we wait for clarity in tumultuous times.

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