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The South King County Food Coalition was founded in 1983 to support its member agencies to help them provide nutritionally balanced food to people in need. The Coalition consists of 13 food banks throughout South King County.

The South King County Food Coalition (SKCFC) currently seeks to strengthen the efforts of its member agencies by enhancing the local food security network. This unified web is built on a platform of engagement with:

• faith based organizations
• non-profits, social service providers
• local businesses
• service organizations
• individual community members

For the 2010-2011 cycle the coalition acquired a Harvest Against Hunger AmeriCorps VISTA to increase its capacity for this kind of outreach, network building and volunteer engagement. The VISTA’s projects included:

• Nutrition education in food banks
• Field trip programs and volunteer opportunities
• Land conservation and management
• Grant research and assistance

These efforts help SKCFC increase their visibility in the community while increasing the amount of nutritious produce distributed by the twelve food banks in the Coalition. In 2016-2017 fiscal year, the Coalition served 12 million pounds of food to an average of 14,200 different families per month along with providing nutrition education for their food bank clients. Each food bank in the coalition maintains independence in their day to day operations but are able to lift each other up by developing adoptable standards and sharing best practices. Coalitions are often the starting point for collaborative projects, as seen in SKCFC’s Elk Run Farm where the need for fresh and local produce in the coalition’s food banks drove the creation of an organic farm.