In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Boeing Bust and national economic problems caused severe unemployment and poverty in Seattle and elsewhere. Peggy Maze of Seattle volunteered with an emergency assistance group, Neighbors in Need, and later became its director. NIN grew into a network of 80 food banks in 20 Washington counties. The project was so successful that Maze was picked to run the San Francisco food distribution program connected with the 1974 Patty Hearst kidnapping.

In June 1974, Democrat Maze announced her campaign to represent the 43rd District in the State Senate. In this image, with the Space Needle in the background, Peggy Maze announces her state senate candidacy. While she lost to James McDermott in the fall election, she continued her political activism throughout her life.

Caption information source: “Food Banks in King County”, by Cynthia Nims, HistoryLink.org Essay 21398
Caption information source: “Neighbors Need Gas for Trucks”, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, January 15, 1974, page A16.
Caption information source: “Food Distribution: Hearst to Use Seattle’s Plan”, from Associated Press, United Press International, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, February 20, 1974, page A1.