Last Wednesday, 70 Marshallese community members and neighbors gathered in Spokane to protect a critical food source that has helped thousands of families survive in Washington.

As dozens of Marshallese immigrants attested, the State Food Assistance (SFA) program is a lifeline to these Spokane residents, who constitute about 850 out of 1,270 documented immigrants receiving SFA  in Spokane County.

Yesterday, Children’s Alliance delivered nearly 40 letters to Spokane legislators from parents, grandparents, and other community members at Wednesday’s meeting. 

In this edition, the newest state Senate budget proposal inspires a Tri-City food bank director, a Spokane mother, and two senators from King County to speak up for State Food Assistance funding. A new analysis shows that kids make up 70 percent of Washingtonians receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). In national news, the Affordable Care Act will expand children’s coverage in 2014 after bringing the number of uninsured U.S. children down to its record low.

This Friday is the second anniversary of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Like Social Security and Medicare before it, important laws like the ACA inspire vigorous debate.

While there are lots of opinions about health care reform, there’s no disputing its benefits for children across the country and here at home.

In this edition, one child advocate reminds lawmakers to consult their Washington values to protect food assistance for 12,500 hungry families in the state, and a mother from Kent shares how Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) brought her family out of homelessness into self-sufficiency. In national news, food stamps fight both hunger and poverty, and the Obama Administration releases its final rule on state health coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

In this edition, a late night Senate vote on the state budget puts child care and food assistance at risk for thousands of vulnerable families. Meanwhile, the “Go for the Gold” school breakfast campaign kicks off during National School Breakfast Week to promote better student health and performance in Seattle Public Schools, and in Spokane, a growing Marshallese community that prioritizes education is at risk of losing the anti-hunger program that supports their children’s success. One in four Washington children’s first “dental visit” is a trip to the emergency room, and in national news, it’s one in four that belong to families who struggle to pay their health care bills, even as health coverage improves for children overall.