The Youth and Family Empowerment (YFE) Division of the City of Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) is seeking applications from agencies interested in program coordination and food procurement for the Seattle Farm to Preschool Program (formerly known as Seattle Farm to Table).
This 2023 Seattle Farm to Preschool Program Coordination and Food Procurement RFQ will increase food access for low-income and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) children and families who are part of the Seattle Preschool Program through two program components:
1) Select an agency to provide leadership and coordination to nutrition education providers, family food bag providers, and participating preschool programs to build relationships, increase communication, coordinate program logistics, support data collection, and strategically plan.
2) Select an agency to assist participating preschool programs in procuring local, culturally relevant food from regional farmers with a focus on BIPOC, immigrant and refugee, women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning (LGBTQ), and tribal-owned farms. The selected agency will also manage preschool program stipends to purchase local, culturally relevant food from regional farmers in approximately 50 preschool programs across the City of Seattle serving an estimated 1,500 children ages 3-5 years old.
In 2010, the Seattle Farm to Table partnership was formed to make local food more affordable to Seattle-based home-delivered meal programs, senior congregate programs, and childcare centers.
Over the last 12 years, the childcare portion, now called the Seattle Farm to Preschool Program, has expanded its holistic approach, encouraging children from early age to connect to food of their cultures and their local regions. This approach includes educational outreach in classrooms, food access to families through take home food bags, and relationship building between farmers and children. There has been a focused effort to increase food equity by prioritizing food purchases from BIPOC, immigrant and refugee, women, LGBTQ, and tribal-owned farmers.
In 2017, Seattle’s Sweetened Beverage Tax (SBT) was established by Seattle City Council Ordinance 125324 to improve the health of Seattle residents by reducing the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. This tax now almost fully funds Seattle Farm to Preschool. See the Sweetened Beverage Tax Guiding principles and the Farm to Table guiding principles. Approximately $282,656 in Seattle Sweetened Beverage Tax (SBT) funding is available through this RFQ.
Access to nutritious and culturally relevant food remains an increasing need, especially as Seattle becomes more diverse. Recent rising food costs due to price inflation have contributed to increased food disparities among Seattle residents. According to the October 2022 Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index report for Seattle, inflation increased more than 8% from 2021. Food prices jumped 10.3% from the previous year. According to Public Health—Seattle & King County data, Black and Hispanic households are twice as likely to experience food insecurity than White households. Southeast Seattle households have higher rates of food insecurity compared to other neighborhoods in Seattle.
This is an open and competitive process. For more information, and all RFP materials, please visit HSD’s Funding Opportunities web page: http://www.seattle.gov/humanservices/funding-and-reports/funding-opportunities. Completed application packets are due by 12:00 p.m. PST, on Friday, March 10, 2023.
If you have any questions, or would like to receive a copy of the RFP in the mail or by email, please contact Pamela Maskara, Funding Process Coordinator, at pamela.maskara@seattle.gov, or Janelle Jackson, Funding Process Coordinator, at janelle.jackson@seattle.gov.