The Editor:
We are facing a significant challenge.
Unless Congress reopens the federal government or secures alternative funding, SNAP benefits may not be available starting November 1. More than 42 million Americans rely on SNAP to feed their families. Without it, countless households will be left scrambling to meet their most basic need: food.
As I sift through data and try to understand the potential impact for the families we serve through Blaine Food Bank, my thoughts keep returning to the human toll. Behind every statistic is a real person – a parent skipping meals so their child can eat, a senior choosing between groceries and medication, a family facing eviction because they had to buy food instead of paying rent.
Yes, data can help us prepare to a certain extent, but we know the needs in our local communities far exceed what food banks alone can meet. Statistics offer a snapshot of the past – they can’t fully capture the uncertainty and urgency of what lies ahead. Many low-income families rely on SNAP benefits to get by and may not need to visit food banks. But if those benefits lapse, these families will suddenly find themselves in need, joining others who are already struggling. Without SNAP, families will be forced into impossible choices:
• Skipping meals to stretch what little food remains;
• choosing between food, rent, utilities or medicine;
• turning to food banks, like ours, that are already stretched thin;
• or sacrificing nutrition, health and stability just to get by.
Today, we saw a record-breaking number of guests at our distribution – and we expect that number to keep rising.
We don’t know exactly what the coming weeks will bring, but we do know this: We hear our guests, we understand their fear, and we are committed to doing everything we can to help.
It’s hard not to feel overwhelmed in moments like these. But we won’t turn away. We will stand together, face this challenge head-on and continue to serve with compassion and respect.
Your support means more now than ever.
Together, we are not just feeding people … we are feeding hope!
Lisa Dobbin
Director, Blaine Food Bank
Blaine
The Editor:
As far as I know, not one deer was struck or killed on Drayton Harbor Road during this year’s fawn season.
Thank you, city of Blaine, for putting up wildlife warning signs, and thank you, Blaine drivers, for being careful and compassionate.
Jennifer Plombon
Blaine
The Editor:
Thanks to Nolan Baker for bringing awareness about the California Creek Estuary Park. Non-complaint proposals require public input and appropriate comment periods.
I first heard of this ill-conceived proposal in late September. The county asked for comments from those living within 1,000 feet and warned they were shortcutting the approval process.
Go to the county’s website, bit.ly/47rZ5js. Patently incomplete. All plans on file seem selected to mask any suggestion that there might be people living near the proposal. Proponents will hire a “park host” to “discourage vandalism” from dusk to dawn 120 days of the year. No supervisionafter dark or during the other (245) days of the year.
After I commented, the county sent me additional materials that had been previously accepted but not posted. These fresh disclosures made matters worse – this “park” requires three code variances, a shorelines permit and a conditional use permit to construct 70 new parking stalls and to dump that traffic onto Drayton Harbor Road just a few hundred feet away from Blaine Road – an already dangerous intersection.
I found a Bellingham Herald headline that the $370,000 grant to Whatcom Land Trust was for “salmon and orca recovery in Blaine estuary,” how does this park further that objective?
Where is the public demand for more trails in logged wetlands that, in this case, have no other interest? This property does not rival existing amenities afforded by Semiahmoo Resort and the spit or the many trails and amenities planned for west Blaine.
Do we need a special kayak launch for additional access to a portion of harbor that has no water in it much of the summer due to negative tides? Semiahmoo Spit is a better launch site – the water isn’t miles from the beach – and significant public parking is being constructed there.
Instead of this park boondoggle, let’s spend taxpayer-funded recreation money on something that could actually benefit the community. How about widening Drayton Harbor Road to improve safety, adding bike paths and connecting the existing trail to the spit so we can promote biking visitors to frequent our restaurants and hotels?
Jack Grant
Blaine
