Spokane Valley food bank and soup kitchen opens as families face benefit cuts

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — A new community food bank and soup kitchen opened in Spokane Valley on Saturday, providing a lifeline for families facing food insecurity as the government shutdown enters its 25th day.

Nourish Spokane is run by the Filipino American Northwest Association. The program took two years to develop and aims to help families struggling with food insecurity.

"It's Spokane Valley's first cultural soup kitchen that's not faith based," said Jacqueline Babol, executive director of the Filipino American Northwest Association.

The timing is important. Starting next month, families could lose access to food benefits because of the government shutdown. This could affect hundreds of thousands of households across the Inland Northwest.

The food bank provides hot meals and food t