2024 - 2025 Report: Social Safety Net Under Attack
Pike Market Senior Center & Food Bank faces a new challenge in the turbulent 2020s
Hello to our neighbors,
We are so grateful to the community of caring people that has kept the Pike Market Senior Center & Food Bank (PMSC-FB) open and growing through the 2020s, the most turbulent period in our
47-year history.
After emerging from Covid, we face a man-made crisis as the Trump agenda slashes SNAP (food stamps) and other benefits. This attack on the social safety net will harm thousands of low-income and unhoused clients.
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This report focuses on the food programs offered at PMSC-FB.
We are already seeing a 16% increase in demand for our food programs since last year. When the Trump cuts were announced this spring, we saw another jump in demand. We project a 20% growth above the current, high demand for our food programs. That will cost us $85,000 beyond our current food budget.
We hope that the people who read this report will help us raise the funds to close that budget gap. With $85,000 in donations, we will stabilize our food programs and stretch that money to provide 167,000 meals and bags of groceries in 2025. That may not solve every single problem that is coming at us, but we will be moving in the right direction. This is doable!
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We have recent practice with tough times. Covid taught us how to handle a crisis: We don’t panic, we adapt. And our community of supporters are with us.
Keep scrolling to see where we’re at and where
we’re headed. And if you are able to make
a donation, we could sure use your help.
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Mason Lowe, Deputy Director
Pike Market Senior Center & Food Bank
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PS - There's a lot of serious information here, but there's also news and updates on fun things to look forward to in the months ahead!
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NOTE: While this report focuses on the food and nutrition programs PMSC-FB offers, all of our social services and activities programs are going strong and seniors are expressing themselves and reaching their goals.
Food Stamp cuts have already hit PMSC-FB
PMSC-FB has been dealing with the effects of benefit cuts for two years.
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Huge, post-Covid cuts to SNAP in spring 2023 have made food stamps less significant as tool to fight hunger.
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Demand for free meals has been growing since the 2023 cuts and increased again in 2025 when the Trump budget cuts were announced - they have not yet taken effect.
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Our data suggests that perhaps only half of eligible senior clients use SNAP, even though 85% of Senior Center members live below the federal poverty level of $15,650/yr.
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Clients cite the meager benefit and bureaucratic challenges as barriers.
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SNAP benefits are already low, averaging just $139/month and many clients receive just $23/month.
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We expect that when the Trump cuts go into effect in 2027, further reductions to SNAP benefits will drive new clients to the Senior Meals and Food Bank programs as those people with higher benefits lose support.
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NOW is the time to stabilize our nutrition programs. The current situation is unsustainable. It is time to work together to nourish our community.
Let's hear from clients of the Pike Market Senior Center & Food Bank
Scott
"The main service I use is the meals. This place has been a godsend. It gave me something to do when I was living on the sidewalk. I'm indoors now, but I'm still here every day. This is a good place to be."
"I was living in a shelter. I came here for breakfast and lunch. Then I started working with a case manager. Today, I have an apartment. I'm working on being active and staying healthy."
Pamela
The wild ride of the 2020s illustrated:
Meals served per month at Pike Market Senior Center
1. From January 2016 through early 2020, we establish a baseline serving breakfast and lunch, 7 days a week.
2. Covid hits in early 2020 and immediately disrupts meals and other services at PMSC.
3. Community support helps us rise to the challenge. We add a dinner to daily service to meet higher needs. Performance soars.
4. Covid fades. Service drops
as we return to 2 meals/day. But demand rebounds as
Covid-SNAP benefits end.
Meals per month
5. Demand for meals rises with inflation in 2024. It spikes as cuts to safety net are announced. Serving just 2 meals/day, we are setting new performance records.
Something you can do to help RIGHT NOW
The ready-to-eat program at the Food Bank offers people without housing a way to get fresh and shelf-stable food without age restrictions or other barriers.
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Clients of this service tend to be the most vulnerable people we serve. This busy program is used over 2,300 times per month!
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Protein bars are portable and nutrient-dense, which makes them a useful addition to the ready-to-eat bags. The factors that make them so valuable to unhoused clients also makes them expensive to buy in bulk.
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CLICK HERE to purchase protein bars and have them delivered to the Food Bank.
Saying goodbye to Zoé Freeman
33 years of compassion and understanding from a Market legend
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This February, we said goodbye to our colleague, mentor, and friend Zoé Freeman. Anyone who spent more than a few minutes talking to Zoé could see that offering the members of the Pike Market Senior Center the best activities, services, and opportunities was her life's work.
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Visitors to the Senior Center are often surprised by the feeling of positivity when they enter a room full of people from many walks of life, many of whom are facing serious challenges. This welcoming atmosphere didn’t "just happen." It was carefully designed over the years and is rebuilt every day by the members and staff of the Senior Center. While everyone at the agency helps put together this positive feeling, the architect was Zoé. The vision was hers.
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Zoé had the rare ability to appreciate every person's journey and could identify and encourage their best traits. Zoé left us on February 20th. We miss her every day. Her vision for PMSC-FB remains our north star.
Zoé Freeman, 1943-2025
Looking forward to
​​​Join us on the cobblestones of Pike Place Market for the 40th Figgy Pudding Caroling Competition on Saturday, December 6th from 12 noon to 2:30pm!
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There are lots of ways to get into the holiday spirit. You can attend, you can form a caroling team, volunteer, or even sponsor this big, beloved, only-in-Seattle event.
We'd love to answer your questions!
Email: pamela@pikemarket.org
Visit: www.figgypudding.org
A word from Executive Director, Pamela Hinckley
​​​Thank you for your support and for taking some time to stay informed on the assistance we offer to our neighbors in Downtown Seattle.
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A critical aspect of our work is combining food access with empathy. Serving a fresh meal or setting out a selection of groceries - these are opportunities to make a human connection. Connecting over food brings us together and strengthens our resolve to be of service to our community.
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I am so proud of the heartfelt way
our staff takes time to learn peoples’ names and learn about their lives. Food is at the core of what we do and it is often the first step in meeting peoples’ other needs and working towards their goals.
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We are already in the midst of a challenge, meeting the nutritional needs of the client population. We hope we can count on you to keep these services strong in the months ahead!