The deadline for avoiding a government shutdown on July 1 is fast approaching, yet the Washington Legislature still cannot agree on a budget. Food banks received notices this week telling us that if there is no budget, we will not get the funds from the state that we rely on to keep our doors open.

At Multi-Service Center’s food bank, we serve residents in the Federal Way school district boundaries as well as Northeast Tacoma — these are our neighbors who rely on the food we provide to feed their families. Without funding from the state, we will have less food to distribute and less funds with which to pay salaries to the few employees we have on staff. It may have an impact on our ability to keep the lights on and the number of days/hours we are open to the public.

In addition to the food bank, other Multi-Service Center programs including housing, energy assistance, employment, education and the Long Term Care State Ombudsman program rely on government funding to fully operate.

They too run the risk of impacts ranging from reduced program hours and a reduction in our ability to provide these services to our community to a complete shutdown of some services. Last year, over 18,000 from Federal Way were provided services by Multi-Service Center, which equates to 38 percent of all customers served by our organization. A reduction in or termination of services — even temporarily — would be devastating to the Federal Way community.

It is time for the Legislature to agree on a budget, one that shares our priorities for all Washingtonians. The House budget includes funding requests for social services including food banks and other key anti-hunger programs while meeting basic education funding obligations, thanks to the inclusion of a modest capital gains tax. Not passing a budget is not an option, and neither is passing one that doesn’t support our neighbors who are still struggling.

Robin Corak, Multi-Service Center CEO