This innovative model strengthens local food economy relationships and ensures a food assistance model that provides community members in need with high quality, nutritious, and culturally relevant meals. By ensuring the stability of restaurant businesses and enabling the retention or hiring of staff, the overall community need for financial assistance is reduced, ensuring markets for local producers are intact, extending to them the same economic security.
Initial program support came through Harvest Against Hunger’s King County Farmers Share program, which provides food assistance through the purchase of King County farm products. Since that time, Good Food Kitchens received additional support from the Not Yet Foundation, the City of Seattle, and King County, which has allowed the program to expand significantly.
In 2021, we directed over $105,570 to 25 restaurant and catering partners, who in turn reinvested those dollars into 11 local farms, to create 10,557 nutritious, culturally relevant meals for 19 community organizations, as well as directly to individuals in need. In 2022, we aim to support the provision of at least 75,000 meals.
