The bill creates two new temporary sections of law. One section states legislative intent to develop a statewide food security strategy; the other directs the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) to lead development of that strategy. Both new sections expire July 1, 2028. WSDA must convene specified state agencies, universities, members of the food policy forum, and nonprofit hunger relief organizations, consult additional nonprofit, research, public sector, and private sector experts, and provide the completed strategy to the appropriate legislative committees by July 1, 2027, in conformance with RCW 43.01.036. The bill requires the strategy to define statewide food security in terms of food access and affordability and to address specified content areas. For agricultural resilience it must identify barriers to farming and ways to encourage agricultural job creation and retention, support land access and maintenance, and provide for adaptability in agricultural practices and in zoning and land use for production. For long-term food security it must encourage urban agriculture, integrate nutrition and health, identify ways to empower consumers to make and have access to healthy food, support physical activity for all, and enhance nutrition and food security research. The measure is a procedural directive creating a new planning requirement rather than creating new crimes or changing penalties. Affected entities named to participate include WSDA (lead), the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, Department of Health, Department of Social and Health Services, State Conservation Commission, Office of Farmland Preservation, Department of Ecology, University of Washington, Washington State University, members of the food policy forum, and nonprofit hunger relief organizations. The extracted text does not include funding, appropriation, staffing authority, a definition of the food policy forum, enforcement mechanisms, implementation details, or metrics for the strategy. The bill was read for the first time on February 17, 2025.

If enacted, the Department of Agriculture will be required to lead and coordinate a statewide food security strategy that brings together state agencies, the two state research universities, nonprofit hunger relief groups, and other experts and deliver a finished plan to the legislature by July 1, 2027; the statutory authority to do this work is time-limited and expires July 1, 2028. The strategy must treat food security in terms of access and affordability and address agricultural resilience, urban agriculture, nutrition and health integration, and related topics, so the practical effect will be a coordinated plan that can guide future policy decisions and priorities. The agencies and groups named (Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction; Departments of Health, Social and Health Services, Ecology; State Conservation Commission; Office of Farmland Preservation; University of Washington; Washington State University; food policy forum members; and nonprofit partners) will need to commit staff time and expertise to meetings and drafting; because the bill text includes no funding, appropriation, or staffing authority, those participants will likely absorb costs within existing budgets or shift priorities, creating a risk the work is limited or delayed. Important implementation details are missing from the extracted text—who exactly sits on the “food policy forum,” how the strategy must be formatted beyond complying with RCW 43.01.036, and any performance metrics or enforcement—so the ultimate impact will depend on choices those agencies make and whether the legislature later provides funding or further direction.