The food justice work in 2024 remained steadfast yet resilient through unprecedented times. Kudos to everyone who joined us this year, whether new staff, volunteers, fellows, council members, donors, funders, or virtual supporters! Kudos to our team for all of the work that goes unseen. We do so much that oftentimes it becomes daunting to look back, internalize, and retell all of the injustices we witnessed, the systems we challenged, the conversations we changed, the amount of food we helped grow and distribute, and the neighborhood we listened to, and the farmers and youth we stood in solidarity with. Here is a demure recap… 

  • Resilient purpose: We pivoted from the Food Policy Council work to reflect our vision for food sovereignty in the food system, we are now called The Rainier Beach Seeds of Change Network. 
  • Local Economy: We spent over $361,000 purchasing locally grown fruits & vegetables from BIPOC farmers and moved over $200,000 in our Value Chain Coordination work with Friendly Hmong Farms, totaling up to half a million dollars worth of local BIPOC-grown produce moved and distributed throughout our local food economy.
  • Relationships built on trust: we’ve fostered over 20+ community partnerships that have received produce from us, co-collaborated on events like the Youth Food Justice Town Hall, Seed Swap, & more, or have popped up at one another’s events distributing free local produce, and community resources including but not limited to: Young Women Empowered, FEEST Seattle, Rainier Beach Urban Farm & Wetlands Youth Stewards, Nourishian, Black Farmers Collective, Food 4 All, Friendly Hmong Farms, PNW BIPOC Farm Land Trust, Skyway Farmers Market & Bazaar, Rainier Valley Food Bank, Food Justice Collaborative, International Rescue Committee, Food Equity Fund, Mt Baker Housing Association, Hand in Hand, Creative Justice NW, International Migrants Alliance, Meaningful Movies Project, not including the 20+ BIPOC farm partners we bought from every week
  • Farmer Support: Supported 29 small Black & Brown-owned farms this season with over 1,200 hours of Farmer Support from January 2024 to November 2024 and 39 volunteers/youth
  • Food Justice Fellow Advocacy: Fellows participated in the Nourishian Youth Food Justice Panel on August 6th at RBUFW, the theme being “Relationships and Power”.” They hosted a youth-led Food Justice Town Hall on May 4th to gather input on local food system initiatives, attended the Rainier Beach Urban Farm Youth Conference on November 23rd to attend workshops (such as how to make spring rolls with locally grown produce), have conversations, and listen to lectures, and participated in “Resisting Environmental Racism Locally” hosted by FEEST Seattle. 
  • Resist the Non-Profit Industrial Complex: We come together with our team members to decide on the 2025 Seeds of Change Budget. That means our youth and farmers are at the table. This promotes an inclusive and collaborative process where we can decolonize money language, encourages transparency and access to the financial information that fosters trust among the community as a means of building power and informs our changes and growth for next year.
  • Finished tenant improvements of our Food Innovation Center Phase 1, featuring a Food Hub and Growth Center totaling over $2 million in renovations
  • Even though Farm Stand season ended in October, we held weekly Free Green Fridays for 3 months at the Food Hub, serving a total of over 260 visitors. 
  • Delivered up to 35 CSA boxes weekly to community members in the neighborhood.
  • Delivered local produce to Riverton Church, Kent Econolodge Refugee Camp, Tukwila Food Bank, and Des Moines Food Bank

Seeds of Change Farmer Talk Story Documentary Series coming to a screening in the Southend Spring of 2025!!!


Best,
Nurhaliza Mohamath
Food Justice Coordinator

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