The bill amends RCW 43.23.330 and adds a new section in chapter 43.23 RCW to create two related programs: a "Washington farm donation grant program" to procure Washington-grown produce, grains, dairy, and protein at risk of becoming food waste for distribution to hunger relief organizations, and a new "farm-to-food pantry grant program" to provide grant funding, contract models, and administrative support to nonprofit hunger relief organizations to facilitate direct purchasing from farmers, producers, tribes, and food hubs. The department is directed to issue grants to one or more nonprofit organizations to acquire food directly from Washington food producers and to issue farm-to-food pantry grant funds to a nonprofit whose mission is to cultivate and connect food system partners; that nonprofit must make subawards to nonprofit hunger relief organizations to establish wholesale contracts for direct purchasing. The law specifies allowable uses of grant funds, including compensating donating food producers for pick-and-pack-out costs, production inputs, harvest costs, and marginal postharvest logistical and administrative costs that facilitate acquisition and distribution. It requires grant recipients to report project results or use of funds to the department in a manner the department prescribes, authorizes the department to provide up to 25 percent of total farm-to-food pantry grant funding at the time a grant agreement is executed, and permits the department to adopt rules to implement the amended and new program provisions. The act may be cited as the "Washington farmers feeding families act." This is a statutory change that both modifies an existing law (RCW 43.23.330) and creates a new grant program section in chapter 43.23 RCW, establishing grant-making authority, subaward procedures, allowable expense categories, reporting requirements, and rulemaking authority. The extracted text does not identify which department will administer the programs, does not state funding sources or total funding amounts, and does not provide detailed selection criteria, application procedures, reporting content or timing, or timelines for rulemaking and implementation.

If enacted, the bill creates two grant pathways so nonprofits can buy Washington-grown produce, grains, dairy, protein, and seafood that might otherwise go to waste and move it into hunger relief channels. Nonprofits selected to run the programs will get grant money to pay farmers for pick-and-pack, harvest, some production inputs, and marginal postharvest costs, and those running the farm-to-food pantry grants must pass subawards to local hunger relief organizations to make direct wholesale purchases. Producers — including small, minority, veteran, women, and tribal farmers — are likely to see more opportunities to be paid for excess or imperfect product rather than losing it, while regional and statewide food bank distributors and experienced hunger relief organizations are more likely to be the main recipients and partners because the program prioritizes groups with at least five years’ experience. The practical changes are that certain nonprofits will gain new funding and new contracting or distribution responsibilities and may receive up to 25 percent of a farm-to-food pantry grant up front, while farmers gain a potential new revenue stream for at-risk production. The department named in the law will set rules and reporting formats and will manage grant awards, but the bill text here does not identify that department, nor does it specify how much money will be available, how organizations are chosen, or the timing of awards and rules, so those implementation details and the program’s scale remain unclear.