Tonight on Prison Pipeline, we turn our focus to hunger, poverty, and state policy in Oregon. Host Emma Lugo speaks with Andrea Williams, President of the Oregon Food Bank, about the release of the organization’s 2026 State of Hunger Report and what the latest data reveals about food insecurity across Oregon and Southwest Washington.
The new report shows hunger at record levels, with food assistance visits rising sharply as families struggle under the combined pressures of high food costs, rent, healthcare expenses, and recent federal cuts to nutrition programs. Williams discusses what the data shows at the community level and why food insecurity is not an isolated problem, but a systemic one—deeply connected to housing instability, low wages, and the policies that shape who is left without a safety net.
This conversation also looks at the political moment. The State of Hunger report was released alongside Food for All Oregonians Advocacy Day, as hundreds of advocates gathered at the Capitol urging lawmakers to pass an Anti-Hunger Package during this legislative session. Williams explains what is at stake, what policy solutions are on the table, and how decisions made now will determine whether hunger continues to grow or whether Oregon chooses a different path.
Prison Pipeline airs tonight at 6:30pm on KBOO Community Radio, 90.7 FM in Portland, and streaming online at kboo.fm/listen. Prison Pipeline is a weekly program examining the intersections of incarceration, state power, and social justice.