Farm to Community

This type of program supports so many players in the local food system: farmers & farmworkers, delivery drivers, farm admin, food banks and their clients. It is a way to both bolster the local food economy and to meet the food access needs of the local population. My vision would be for this type of program to grow at a regional, state and national level over time!
Viva Farms
F2C partner agency
Four people standing in front of a truck, holding different vegetables -- beets and leafy greens.

Farm to Community (F2C) encompasses multiple projects in Washington State that follow the shared model of funding for food assistance organizations to purchase produce directly from local small-scale farms. Operating across different scales, partners, and funding sources, King County Farmers Share, Farm to Food Pantry, and the Growing for Good partnership with PCC Markets and Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Markets all work under the Farm to Community umbrella to help reduce hunger, support small farm economies, prevent food waste, and increase access to nutritious, local produce through networks of farms, food banks, meals programs, and volunteers throughout the state. Purchasing directly from local farmers allows for not only healthier, more diverse food options for people experiencing food & nutritional insecurity, but helps these farms to prosper and create relationships within their communities, as they do not have to rely solely on being able to donate produce.

Harvest Against Hunger began working with these programs in 2014 with the creation of Farm to Food Pantry and added KCFS in 2019. PCC/NFM joined with HAH to launch a partnership in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and rising levels of food insecurity across the nation. Farm to Community unifies common elements of these three programs to increase their effectiveness, efficiency, and create sustainable, resilient networks that will allow organizations to better provide solutions for hunger.  We also work with many F2C partners through our Harvest VISTA program to build capacity and relationships with farms, volunteers, and other community organizations in their local areas.

Follow the links below to find more information about each of these specific projects and what they are doing in communities across Washington.

Program Contacts:

Olivia Jackiewicz, Farm to Community Program Manager

olivia@harvestagainsthunger.org

Avi Bauer, Farm to Community Program Specialist

avi@harvestagainsthunger.org

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Want to learn more about engaging small farms in hunger-relief sales? Reach out to us, or check out the guides we’ve developed!

Farm to Food Pantry placard

KCFS Page

F2FP Page

Seattle Neighborhood Farmers Markets G4G Page

PCC Food Access Program Website

Goals

Farm to Community works to understand and build local food economies, to provide more impactful and sustainable food access for everyone in our community. We help foster direct relationships between growers and food access networks, be it food banks, local farmers markets, or other grocery sources in areas with unreliable access to fresh produce. Creating sustainable systems that allow people, regardless of income, to get high-quality food they want and need for their families is essential now more than ever as we navigate how to respond to emergencies like COVID-19 and climate change that strain our ability to provide food.

These programs work to address sustainability with the three-pillar approach:

  1. Economic (financially supporting small family-owned farms)
  2. Environmental (reducing food waste and food miles; supporting small-scale, often organic and regenerative agriculture)
  3. Social (establishing robust, diversified partnerships and short supply chains)

Benefits to farmers:

  • – Fosters direct relationships, helping to embed small farms within community networks
  • – Provides reliable income with pre-harvest contract models
  • – Reduces waste
  • – Aids the growth of regional food systems
  • – Increases name recognition
Number of Participating Farms
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Benefits to hunger relief organizations:

  • – Access to fresh, nutrient-dense produce which might otherwise be unavailable
  • – Greater variety and quantity of produce
  • – Supports sustainable produce purchasing and gleaning programs
  • – Food distribution centers can pursue purchasing contract models that work best for them
Number of Hunger Relief Organizations
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2024 Farm to Community Locations

With the apparent effects of the pandemic funding cliff, funds such as F2FP allowed for us to continue to procure food when in-kind donations have been incrementally decreasing. F2FP ensures a steady and local supply of fresh, nutritious, and oftentimes culturally relevant fresh food offerings!
blue Hopelink logo
Hopelink
F2C partner

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