Food Justice Alert!!

Friends, please take 2 minutes of your time THIS WEEK-END to support food justice locally: we just got word that WSU Extension has been cut from the King County Council budget. This is an outrage. Please join me in sending a strong message TODAY to ensure they fund a solution to this!

& I will make this easy for you!
1. All Council members' emails: reagan.dunn@kingcounty.gov, dow.constantine@kingcounty.gov, pete.vonreichbauer@kingcounty.gov, jane.hague@kingcounty.gov, julia.patterson@kingcounty.gov, larry.phillips@kingcounty.gov, kathy.lambert@kingcounty.gov, larry.gossett@kingcounty.gov, bob.ferguson@kingcounty.gov

Phone etc below. Want to know who your council member is?
Enter your address here: http://www.kingcounty.gov/council/councilmembers.aspx

2. I include here an email I sent. Feel free to use or change!

& Find more background info below. Thank you for taking action for food security and food justice,
Heather
***********

Greetings,
I am very concerned to hear today that the budget for WSU Extension has been cut out of the County budget. This is particularly troublesome since they just received a sizable grant - $1.2 million - from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, to implement the Community Action Plan, that they will be unable to use if they are cut.

The Council must find a solution: Extension provides so many essential services to our region's farmers, low income families needing nutrition education, community members who need gardening education, and the invaluable Puget Sound Fresh Program of Cascade Harvest Coalition.

Did you know that this week the USDA announced a national trend of increased hunger in the US? In the face of this disturbing news, why is the Council cutting the budget for the very services that contribute to food security in the Northwest?

WSU Extension provides vital services that must not be cut from the budget.
I look forward to hearing about your solutions to this crisis.

Sincerely,
Heather Day
Director, Community Alliance for Global Justice

403 29th Ave E
Seattle WA 98112
206-405-4600
********************
Contact your councilmember:

Bob Ferguson
Council Vice Chair, District 1
206-296-1001
bob.ferguson@kingcounty.gov
Member since: 2004
Current term: 2006-2009

Larry Gossett
District 2
206-296-1002
larry.gossett@kingcounty.gov
Member since: 1994
Current term: 2008-2011

Kathy Lambert
District 3
206-296-1003
kathy.lambert@kingcounty.gov
Member since: 2002
Current term: 2006-2009

Larry Phillips
District 4
206-296-1004
larry.phillips@kingcounty.gov
Member since: 1992
Current term: 2008-2011

Julia Patterson
District 5
206-296-1005
julia.patterson@kingcounty.gov
Member since: 2001
Current term: 2006-2009

Jane Hague
Council Vice Chair, District 6
206-296-1006
jane.hague@kingcounty.gov
Member since: 1994
Current term: 2008-2011

Pete von Reichbauer
District 7
206-296-1007
pete.vonreichbauer@kingcounty.gov
Member since: 1994
Current term: 2006-2009

Dow Constantine
Council Chair, District 8
206-296-1008
dow.constantine@kingcounty.gov
Member since: 2002
Current term: 2008-2011

Reagan Dunn
District 9
206-296-1009
reagan.dunn@kingcounty.gov
Member since: 2005
Current term: 2006-2009
*********
BACKGROUND:
NOTE from Tammy Morales:
Folks it looks like the cuts may be permanent. Unbelievable. Please contact your council members and ask them to find a solution to this. Extension provides so many services to our regions farmers, low income families needing nutrition education, community members who need gardening education. It supports the Puget Sound Fresh Program of Cascade Harvest Coalition. AND it is the host for this $1.2 MILLION grant from the Kellogg Foundation. Is the council really going to walk away from this?
Make the calls! Send the emails! This is for real.

Note from W.K. Kellogg Foundation:
Yesterday afternoon we received word that WSU King County Extension was eliminated from the King County budget. The repercussions of this action means that WSU Extension will be forced to decline the recently awarded $1.2 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to implement our Community Action Plan.

At this time we do not have a 'plan b' for how to handle this situation - as the zero-ing out of Extension came as a surprise. Your support is vital as we face seemingly uncertain times.

ACTION REQUEST --> Please do what you can to educate your local council member that eliminating Extension also eliminates the opportunity to pursue this work. Extension Director, Brad Gaolach, is working with council staff to find a solution, but your support will be critical during these final days.