Call To Order
Roll Call
Committee Chair Elizabeth Boyle called the meeting to order at 1:34 p.m.
in a hybrid meeting.
7 -
Present:
Elizabeth Boyle, Barry Buchanan, Ben Elenbaas, Kaylee Galloway, Jessica
Rienstra, Jon Scanlon, and Mark Stremler
Announcements
Special Presentation
1.
Update from the Whatcom Food Bank Network regarding funding and local food
insecurity data
Mike Cohen, Bellingham Food Bank Executive Director, read from a
presentation (on file) on the Whatcom Food Bank Network, their funding
history with Whatcom County and that the number of clients has grown
massively in the last few years (in 2021-2024 food bank visits tripled), that
they will again be seeking support from the County over the next biennium,
that hunger is a public health issue that spans the breadth of the county, the
demographics of those utilizing the food banks, and how the food banks
help the community.
Councilmembers and Cohen discussed the fact stated in the presentation
that 25 percent of Whatcom County residents are shoppers at the food bank,
if there are efficiencies of the food bank's operation that allow them to get
food to people cheaper because they can buy in bulk than if they were just
giving people cash, that there was a decrease in visits in 2025 compared to
2024 because there were some food banks in the network that had to cut
their programming, that it has been great working with the Healthy
Children's Fund dollars, and that the fund has improved lives in many
different ways.
Boyle stated she appreciated the quote from Cohen’s presentation that they
have worked really hard to make accessing our food banks as "easy and
dignified as possible," and she also observed that when she toured the
facility.
This agenda item was PRESENTED.
Committee Discussion and Recommendation to Council
1.
Resolution establishing the existing Whatcom County Ferry Advisory Committee as
the Ferry Advisory Committee for the Ferry District [Council acting as the Whatcom
County Ferry District Board of Supervisors]
Roland Middleton, Public Works Department, briefed the councilmembers
and stated the recent changes in state law that allowed the ferry district to
