Dear Friends:

Today’s update encourages you to support your local food banks, which need our help now more than ever, as well as updates on case numbers in King County, the Washington State Cash Assistance Program, and more.

Food Banks and Our Community

In response to the King County Council Chair’s request for priorities, I said “food… food… food!”

As concerned as I am about the coming weeks and months, I am equally concerned about the coming year and the current disruption to our food chain and its impact in 2021. You have likely seen stories from across the country of record lines stretching out of food banks. The COVID-19 crisis has been especially challenging for food banks, who must serve more people than ever while donation rates decline due to people staying home. Given the reality of this situation, I wanted to encourage everyone with the means to donate to support their local food bank.

Last week, I had the opportunity to visit with Robin Corak, CEO of the Multi-Service Center (MSC) in Federal Way. Robin and her team of employees and volunteers are providing critical services to South King County communities grappling with the COVID-19 crisis. Thank you for all that you do.



Last week I visited with Robin Corak, CEO of the Multi-Service Center and volunteers at their food bank.

Washington State Disaster Cash Assistance Program

The Disaster Cash Assistance Program is a state program normally used to help low-income families following natural disasters. The change announced yesterday will provide assistance for one month to Washington families and people without children who are not eligible for other cash programs, and who meet the income and resource limits of the program.

Citizenship status is not an eligibility requirement for Washington State disaster cash assistance. More information can be found here. You can apply at www.washingtonconnection.org or by calling the Customer Service Contact Center at 1-877-501-2233.

Testing and Tracing

Sound Publishing recently wrote a comprehensive article detailing the importance of testing and tracing when we begin to emerge and lead lives after the crisis. I found the article interesting, you can read it in the Federal Way Mirror here.

King County Case Update

As of today, Seattle – King County Public Health was reporting 86 new positive cases, bringing the total in King County to 5,379. They also reported 12 new deaths, bringing the total number of deaths in the County to 372.

Stay In. Stay Healthy. Social Distance. Stay Strong.

Pete von Reichbauer
King County Councilmember