2013 SFC Van Tour!

Sabrina Jones, Program Assistant for Food Resources with Solid Ground, helped organize and plan the 2013 Van Tour

The 2013 Seattle Food Committee Van Tour on Monday, August 12 was attended by over 40 people, with participants from food banks, meal programs, and food distribution sites! This annual event serves as an opportunity for meal programs and food banks to come together, network, and get a behind-the-scenes look at a few emergency food programs in Seattle. All meal programs and food banks have their own way of operating under their unique circumstances, whether it be small spaces, language barriers, no parking, or little storage space.  The Van Tour allows participants to observe these operations and pick up best practices that may just help the whole system run a little better.

Kate-HIP

This year's tour started at the Hunger Intervention Program (HIP). HIP serves approximately 7,000 meals during the year. The program has only one full-time staff member and one AmeriCorps member. With the help of dedicated volunteers, approximately 60 each month, HIP teaches nutrition education, serves Healthy HIP Packs to three schools, and operates a meal program.  They eventually hope to double their HIP Packs program, which delivers weekend meals to students at school.

Fundraising has become focus for HIP, as they have few income sources.  HIP receives grants for its backpack program, but it also relies on individual donors for other income. Most of the food for its programs come from Food Lifeline, Northwest Harvest, and individual food drives. By focusing more attention to fundraising, Kate hopes to expand HIP's programs and provide an additional layer of stability for the organization.

Sam-Executive Director of RVFB

The Rainier Valley Food Bank was the site of our second stop.  This incredibly busy food bank serves about 13,000 people a month and has tripled its annual budget since 2008.  The food bank has been open for 22 years and has outgrown its current space. Without a proper driveway for deliveries, drivers must park on Rainier Avenue and then move pallets into the food bank. These deliveries also happen on distribution days, which adds to an already hectic situation.  A new space, built to serve a food bank, would hopefully make life easier for food bank staff, delivery drivers, and clients.

The Rainier Valley Food Bank recently started using Salesforce, a CRM that allows them to better track clients, volunteers, and donations.  Client cards given out during a client's first visit help volunteers to quickly check in guests. Clients keep this card and present it when they arrive at the food bank.  Volunteers are able to quickly look up the client, document their visit, and provide them with a sticker to let other volunteers know the quantity of items to provide them with.  Even with this well honed system, volunteers are trained in communication styles to de-escalate chaotic situations that may arise during distribution.

Farmer Scott

The Seattle Community Farm is a program of Lettuce Link within Solid Ground. Farmer Scott, the only staff member at the farm, showed participants around after they enjoyed a delicious lunch in the sun. The all-organic farm produced over 9,500 pounds of food last year, which was triple what it produced during its first year growing season.  The produce grown at the farm is based on the needs and wants of food bank clients and includes tasty treats such as beets, carrots, squash, tomatoes, and beans.

Almost all of the produce grown at the Seattle Community Farm goes to the Rainier Valley Food Bank.  Food bank clients are able to receive healthy, organic produce that wouldn't otherwise make it into their kitchens.  The farm and food bank believe that everyone should be able to eat healthy, pesticide-free food, not just the wealthy. The produce from the farm also goes to some work-trade volunteers.  Volunteers offer their time to help maintain the farm and harvest, and in return they are able to take home a giant bag of fresh produce.  This mutual beneficial relationship allows the farm to operate at a low-cost, provides learning volunteer opportunities, and allows volunteers to enjoy the fruit (vegetables) of their labor!

Carla-SIC Food Bank Manager

After visiting the Seattle Community Farm, the van took the group to the Seattle Indian Center (SIC).  SIC is the First American Indian/Alaska Native Human Services Agency in King County and offers an array of human services.  During our visit we saw the food bank, the kitchen that prepares community meals, and their men's hostel.  It was amazing to see their space and hear how the programs make it work.

SIC's Community Meal program serves over 200 meals a day.  They serve both breakfast and lunch.  Meals are made from scratch and Chef Edwin aims to serve clients only healthy, fresh food. Their food bank, which is open Tuesday and Thursday, has no restrictions on who they serve. They work diligently to serve clients culturally relevant food such as tofu, and try to always have a protein item on the line.  One challenge the food bank has is limited funds to purchase items such as tofu or protein, as these items are hard to get donated.  However, the food bank makes do with what they have and serve everyone.  Sometimes they even run out of food.  

Our last stop on the Van Tour was the University District Food Bank. The University District Food Bank is open Monday through Friday for a total of 25 hours, with two sets of evening hours for clients.  The food bank was started 30 years ago and has operated out of the same space for all of that time.  Space for the food bank, in particular perishable space, has proven to be one of its most challenging elements.  In fact, the food bank is currently undergoing a capital campaign for a new location.  The new location will have the food bank on the first floor, low-incoming housing on the top floors, and a roof-top community garden.

Joe-Executive Director of UDFB

The University District Food Bank runs an impressive operation.  With 85-100 volunteers per week, three full-time staff, and two part-time staff, the food bank serves over 4,000 households each month, has a home delivery program that serves approximately 30 people, and delivers food for 175 children a week to four Seattle schools.  The food bank operates under a grocery shopping model, which allows guests to walk around with carts and select the items they want (with quantity of items decided by family size).  This specialized approach to food banking allows clients to feel more like customers than clients at a food bank.

University District Food Bank Fundraiser

News from the University District Food Bank:

I’m excited to announce Food Truck Roundup!, an event celebrating the 30 year anniversary of the University District Food Bank and official kickoff of our Capital Campaign, Fight Hunger build hope, to construct a new facility.

 

In 1983 the food bank provided food to 50 families a month. Today on average we distribute groceries to 1100 different families a week in the same 800 square foot facility. It’s time for a change! Fight Hunger build hope is a three year $2.75 million project to greatly expand our distribution and storage capacity and enhance our ability to provide nutritious meals to families in need.

 

We've already raised $1.75 million! The Food Truck Roundup! is a great opportunity for you to find out more about our capital campaign and have a great time. Event details below: 

 

What: Food Truck Roundup!, Fight Hunger build hope Capital Campaign Kickoff Party

 

Where: Phinney Neighborhood Community Center, 6532 Phinney Ave N.

 

When: Sunday, May 19th from 3-7 PM

 

Tickets: $25 per person which includes eight food tastes and four drink tastes. Buy tickets here! Note: to comply with state law, this event is only open to those ages 21 and over.

 

Event Features: 

•  Tastes from some of Seattle’s most creative and innovative food truck chefs including Skillet Street Food, Barking Frog’s Mobile Kitchen, Contigo, Crisp Creperie, Chopstix, Veraci Pizza, Hallava Falafel, Street Treats, Seattle Biscuit Company, and more! 
• Beer, wine and spirit tastings from several of Seattle’s finest local beverage purveyors including Oola Distillery, Golden Distillery, Sozo Wines and Fremont Brewing Company 
• Live music and entertainment featuring Blackberry Bushes, Washover Fans and Ali Marcus



Fundraisers for North Helpline

Salvation Army Food Bank's Spice Program

Leilani Williams, Community Service Specialist at the Salvation Army on Pike Street, describes how they add a little spice to the lives of their food bank clients.

We have been making and distributing our own spice blends for the last couple months, with rave reviews! It’s exciting to tell clients the amazing things they can do with the curry blend, a few potatoes, an onion, and a couple carrots - accompany this with a pot of brown rice and you’ve got an amazing healthy meal made entirely with food bank ingredients!

We know the most expensive aisle in the grocery store is the spice aisle, and that many clients have to forego adding a little spice to their meals, relying too much on salt. So we use the power of buying in bulk and make an assortment of spice blends: Italian, Curry and Mexican, all salt free, as well as a Vegetable spice blend that does contain some salt. We have plans to add more spice blends from around the globe and to showcase a blend weekly via a crock pot of beans or lentils - knowing once we add smell to the equation even those people who are a little apprehensive about the spices won’t be able to resist. It’s been great for starting conversations about food with our clients, they love to tell us their favorite ways to use the blends and ask us for recipes.

In a time of overly processed artificially flavored foods we are so excited to be able to make eating whole healthy foods exciting for our clients with such a small and powerful addition to our food bank!

The Spice Rack

The 26th Annual Great Figgy Pudding Street Corner Caroling Competition



This Friday the Pike Market Senior Center and Food Bank will host the 26th Annual Figgy Pudding Street Corner Carolina Competition.  Nearly 10,000 people come out every year to hear caroling teams compete in a sing-off.  All proceeds benefit the Pike Market Senior Center and Food Bank, a Seattle Food Committee Member. Their website offers more details and pictures from past events.  Figgy Pudding begins at 5:00 pm and the main stage sing-off happens at 7:30.  This event is sure to be a good time for the whole family!

Turkeys for Thanksgiving

Founded in the 1940’s The Food Bank @ St. Mary’s is Seattle’s oldest food bank. The doors are open to everyone regardless of creed. The services target the most basic of human needs. This week, in preparation of Thanksgiving the food bank is giving away over 1200 turkeys.

“We started looking for donations earlier this year from the better known companies who distribute turkeys,” said Alison Pence, Director of the food bank. “Everyone told us they were only giving to their local organizations. So I decided to ask locally for donations from churches, schools, individuals, even on my personal Facebook page!” Slowly but surely the donations came in. One of the local churches physically brought in 225 turkeys on Monday morning. The food bank bought 1000 turkeys with the donations that came in.

The food bank had nearly 700 people come through on Tuesday and almost 600 today. Luckily, not everyone wants turkey so we had chicken, beef, pork, and lamb as an alternative. “We try very hard to satisfy each culture,” said Pence. “We also have a kosher freezer and halal meats for those who need it. The poor and the hungry deserve to have a good Thanksgiving too.”

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The Food Bank @ St. Mary’s serves anyone living within the Seattle city limits. Our primary purpose is to combat hunger at a local level. Along with a staff of five and a team of 100+ volunteers, we operate a walk-in food bank and a home delivery program providing groceries for 7,500 – 8,000 people each month. In addition to food items, we provide No-Cook bags of groceries for the homeless, hygiene products such as soap, shampoo, and socks, as well as baby and toddler supplies including formula, diapers, and baby food.

Earlier this year, the food bank started the “Feeding Hungry Children” program feeding children who attend local schools.

Food Banks and Urban Farms

Erin "Mac" MacDonald, Development Associate at the Ballard Food Bank, discusses urban farms and how they're improving food banks across Western Washington.

This summer, I’ve been introduced to people who are striving to create a sustainable and local community of gleaners, farmers, and food bankers to source locally grown food for those in need. I visited with farm managers of two food bank farms, Mother Earth Farm, and Vashon Island Food Bank Farm. Through these on-site farm outings and in conversations with the staff at Rotary First Harvest, and others, I’ve come to the opinion that yes, Seattle needs another large food bank farm of its own to feed the Seattle Food Bank community, much as Marra Farm and Seattle Community Farm are doing in South Park and Rainier Valley, respectively.

The good news is, food bank farms are emerging. In Western Washington alone, there are a number of food banks leasing land to pursue small farms that they then manage and food banks that have developed partnerships with local farms that donate all or most of their produce.

A Snapshot Of Two Food Bank Farms

Mother Earth Farm, Orting, Wa.

Canyon Little has been managing the Mother Earth Farm for three seasons under the Emergency Food Network (EFN). In 2011, on 8 acres, 150,000 lbs of produce was grown at the farm. Produce is distributed across a network that includes over 20 food banks, and these food banks come to the farm to pick up the produce. The farm itself has been around for 12 years. Canyon took over as manager after his mother, Carrie Little, left to work exclusively on her land at Little Eorthe  Farm. 
There is one greenhouse on-site, which was completed last winter. Like the Seattle Community Farm, they also grow culturally appropriate vegetables for their diverse client population, such as Chinese Cabbage and hot peppers.

King County:

Vashon Island Food Bank Farm, Jenn Coe
Jenn Coe is the farm manager for the Vashon Island Food Bank Farm. They’ve cultivated ½ an acre on land they lease. They harvest 6,000 lbs of produce a year for their food bank clients. Currently the farm grows ten specific crops based on what most people will eat. The board decides what will be grown each season. They also donate produce to the White Center Food Bank when there’s a really good harvest. The extra produce gets delivered when their truck makes its weekly off island run to Food Lifeline and Northwest Harvest.

Jenn says that the farm could grow more food if they had a steady group of volunteers, but being on the island can present some challenges. There are many non-profit groups on the island to begin with, and Vashon has a small population from which to glean volunteers. While there are many farmers who live on the island, they are busy managing their own land, so it is difficult to get on-going commitment from islanders who are otherwise engaged. With that in mind, they’ve started a successful “Foster Seedlings” program. Without a greenhouse, Jenn is unable to start seedlings for the farm herself. So, farmers and other volunteers on the island receive flats and containers with potting soil and seeds. They’re asked to put flats in their greenhouses, alongside their own. It’s an easy way for them to contribute and in return, the food bank farm gets professionally grown seedlings that are ready to be transplanted right into the ground.

Urban farms are here in the city and across the country and I don’t forsee them going away. Indeed, in a time of growing uncertainty and a rise in the number of clients coming to our food banks, it’s time to start thinking hyperlocal when it comes to sourcing our food.

Please check out the links I’ve included throughout this piece, and consider making a trip to visit one of the various food bank farms in the Greater Seattle Area.

Island County:

Good Cheer Food Bank on Whidbey Island. They have 54 raised beds in which to grow food, and they harvest 5,000 lbs annually.

Whatcom County:

The Bellingham Food Bank  operates a three acre farm, and they, like many other food bank farms, also grow with their clients’ needs specifically in mind. Their short video, made in 2010, presents a nice snapshot of what they do.

Clark County:

The Clark County Food Bank operates a four acre farm to feed folks in the Greater Vancouver area.