Seattle Human Services is partnering with United Way of King County to address food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Community Food Fund invests $1M to support food access among Black, Indigenous and other people of color, as well as immigrant and refugee communities.
27 local organizations across Seattle received funds for a variety of strategies, such as food delivery, culturally appropriate meals for seniors, pop-up food sites, a new greenhouse, cold storage, and collaborations with ethnic restaurants to get hot meals to vulnerable communities. They included both small and large community-based organizations, including the Black Farmers Collective, Casa Latina, Eritrean Association in Greater Seattle, Hip Hop is Green, Queer the Land, United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, and Urban Fresh Food Collective.
Funding comes from the federal CARES Act received by the City of Seattle, and from United Way’s Community Relief Fund. Grants run through the end of the year. See United Way’s recent blog post “Overcoming Cultural Barriers During the Pandemic” for more information and read about the impact of this funding on the Afghan Health Initiative.