2020 — oooh, boy.
It’s easy to succumb to the disappointments and tragedies this year has brought, but it has also been a year of wild transformations and brilliance - communities coming together to help those in need. We salute these leaders and innovators. If you have the means to support them — do it.
Community Kitchens: At the beginning of the pandemic, local restaurants and chefs rose to the challenge of feeding those in need by forming the Seattle Community Kitchen Collective including: Musang Seattle, Chef Tarik Abdullah of Feed the People, Chef Kristi Brown of That Brown Girl Cooks, Guerrilla Pizza Kitchen, Hood Famous Bakeshop and Sugarhill. They continue to do to this today — cooking up hearty meals and getting them in people’s bellies. You can support these efforts by donating food or funds.
Seattle Tilth Alliance’s Good Food Bag program improves access to fresh organic produce for families in South Seattle with limited financial resources. Bags are distributed weekly or bi-weekly via a network of community organizations . By shopping at this year’s Winter Market (pre-order now and pick up December 4th!), you will be supporting this valuable program along with local farmers. Win/win.
For the past 10 years, Green Plate Special has empowered middle-school youth through growing, cooking and sharing food. In response to the pandemic, they transformed their kitchen classroom into a grocery distribution center for families in need. They also opened the garden weekly to youth and alumni to work the soil and ultimately harvest over 2,300 pounds of fresh produce (a new record!). They answered the question “What do we do with all this food?” by posting online cooking classes every Friday - teaching families how to use ingredients in inspiring new ways. Bravo GPS! Learn how you can volunteer or donate to support this wonderful organization here.
Traci Calderon from The Atrium Kitchen in the Pike Place Market leads the Nourished Neighborhood program. Since March, she has served over 20,000 meals to homebound seniors and those experiencing food insecurity in the Downtown area.
Good things are happening everywhere, be a part of it.