A vibrant food system is key to Washington’s health and economy. The Focus on Food Initiative works to ensure that safe, nutritious food is effectively produced, distributed, and delivered to people who want and need it. 

View the 2023 Food Policy Agenda. 

In August 2019, WSDA Director Derek Sandison launched the Focus on Food initiative to highlight food as the cornerstone of agriculture and agriculture as the bedrock of our rural and urban communities. 
 
All across our state, food is grown, produced, processed, distributed, and consumed every day. When food flows through the food system, it brings our diverse communities together and sustains us all, nutritionally and economically. Each year, food and agriculture add thousands of jobs and billions of dollars to Washington’s economy—to say nothing of putting food on the table.
 
Our food system is interdependent. We recognize the important contributions that farmers and food producers, processors, and distributors of all types and sizes make within the vibrant tapestry of Washington's food community. Diverse food enterprises working in tandem are critical to putting food on the table. All of us, together, can keep Washington fed.
 
WSDA is committed to strengthening Washington’s food system through the Focus on Food Initiative by:
Supporting all aspects of growing, processing, and distributing food.

• Helping our farmers and producers connect with markets for their products. 
• Ensuring the safety of Washington foods and assuring consumers that their food is safe.
• Making sure that everyone in our state has access to good food.

In 2021, WSDA commissioned two studies to examine how the COVID-19 pandemic affected access to food in Washington, in the areas of both food production and food assistance.One study was conducted by the University of Washington (UW) and one with Washington State University (WSU).

WSDA funded the WSU Food Systems Program to conduct an assessment of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and risks affecting Washington’s food system, with a special emphasis on identifying the needs and barriers of underserved, food-insecure Black and Indigenous and People of Color and other socially disadvantaged communities. At the request of an informal BIPOC Leadership Team, WSDA staff and WSU Food Systems Program leadership did not participate in the assessment or preparation of the report. We respect the views and opinions of this Team. We commit to continuing constructive dialogue and steps to seek balance and equity in the food system.

The two studies included:
 

• “The State of the Washington State Food System During COVID-19: Taking Stock and Looking Ahead,” [PDF 51MB] authored by researchers with the University of Washington who synthesized several rich datasets and surveys that were collected throughout Washington about the state food system during the pandemic.

• “Assessing WA Food System Through an Equity Lens: Bridging the Gap Through a Culturally Relevant Approach,” [PDF 26MB] conducted by an informal BIPOC leadership team that was assembled in collaboration with the Washington State University Food Systems Program.

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