Unmasking Our Communities’ Food Crisis
On Tuesday, Feeding Feasible Feasts hosted the first of four Unmasking Our Communities’ Food Crisis lunch and learn event. Within the past year, we’ve seen at least 32 local food banks go under. This is at a time when hunger is at an all time high and the need for food is greater than ever in Washington state. So, we created and organized this first presentation to inform local faith organizations of recent statistics surrounding food insecurity in King County and provided a practical toolkit for actionable steps.
Lunch was graciously provided by our friends at Safeway.
“No job is too great or too small ... my encouragement to you is to take your role seriously.”
Our presentation started off with Doug Baldwin (former Seahawks player) from Vault 89 sharing the importances of a championship mindset and social entrepreneurship. Elizabeth Kimball from King County Public Health followed to share food insecurity data based off survey results, adding that there were more stories behind the data that are not represented. “Personal stories, your stories, your neighbors’ stories are important,” Kimbell said. “They’re more impactful for those in government, to talk to funders….”
Angel Swanson, our Executive Director, shared how Feeding Feasible Feasts got its start in addressing hungry people as well as the systems that create hungry people. She asked, “What if every organization gave just 2% and donated that to their local food agency?” If it’s not monetary, it can be with time, resources, and/or skills. Bishop Shelley Wee shared a prayer to close out the session.
We thank the band for their music, Doug Baldwin, Elizabeth Kimball, Bishop Shelley Wee, Safeway, and St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Renton for letting FFF use their space to host Unmasking Our Communities’ Food Crisis. Being in community with like-minded organizations tackling food insecurity and sharing resources are important pillars for FFF. For updates on future events like this one, be sure to check our website and follow us on social media.
Safeway Queen Anne Opens
After two years of redevelopment, Safeway Queen Anne has finally reopened! We were fortunate enough to be invited to their grand opening on November 8th, 2024.
From Left to Right: Sara Osborne, Joy Hollingsworth, Doug Baldwin Jr., Nikki Butler, Angel Swanson, and Greg Wong
Safeway Queen Anne surprised Feeding Feasible Feasts with a generous donation of $100,000! We are incredibly grateful for this gift which will go towards our efforts in increasing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) enrollment and enhance consumers’ purchasing power towards nutritious groceries.
In attendance, we saw several of our valued partners, including Vault 89 and Dignity For Divas, the latter which also received a food assistance donation from Safeway. We are honored to have been a part of this grand opening event and are thankful for all the people who made this happen.
Angel Swanson Featured on Healthcare for Humans
Our founder Angel Swanson sat down with Dr. Raj Sundar of the Healthcare for Humans podcast recently to talk about issues surrounding food insecurity and dignity.
How do we approach our food recovery programs? How can we meet people where they are? These are just a couple of the questions Swanson and Sundar explore in their discussion of retaining cultural relevance in foods and the abundance mindset.
The 55th episode is titled: “Food is Medicine: Reclaiming Culture, Restoring Dignity.” Listen to it here or any podcast platform.