In the summer of 1989, neighborhood food banks in Seattle experienced a severe shortage of supplies. Food donations usually lessen in the summer, and that year was especially bad because of an 81-day strike by grocery workers that ended on July 30. Grocery stores were less willing to donate, and striking workers began going to food banks themselves, which placed further strain on supply. In addition, more Seattle residents were needing them than in previous years. At the beginning of August 1989, food bank directors estimated they would need several more weeks to get back to usual supply levels.

This image shows Elma Villanueva, the director of the Fremont Public Association Food Bank, standing in front of the facility's mostly empty shelves. On Wednesdays, the Fremont cupboard distributed commodities from the USDA – powdered eggs, raisins, peanut butter, flour, and butter. The other days of the week, it provided (depending on availability) bags of rice or beans, apples or oranges, bread, chicken, and ice cream.

Caption information source: “Belt-tightening at the food bank – families in need scrape by during a lean summer,” by Cecelia Goodnow, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, August 8, 1989, page C1.