It was an honor to welcome Senator Patty Murray to tour the future home of the South Seattle Community Food Hub. Senator Murray played a critical role in securing $4 million in federal funding to seed the project. During recess from congress, Senator Murray wanted to see the facility and learn from local leaders about their vision for the hub.
“Food insecurity was an issue before the pandemic. It’s like the pandemic made it public,” says Senator Murray, “So, everybody understood that there were people who didn’t have enough food they needed, and we needed to make the investment.”
This new Hub is a dynamic and innovative way to address food insecurity and a departure from the traditional hunger relief models. The South Seattle Community Food Hub’s goal is to support and promote a more local, just, and sustainable food economy by prioritizing BIPOC, Immigrant, and Refugee -led and -serving community-based organizations and BIPOC, Immigrant and Refugee growers and producers in the area. “If we are going to have a robust, healthy system of food security, then we are going to have to have diversity,” says Ray Williams, Director of Black Farmers Collective, “It’s important to support all aspects of the food system.”
Members of the Advisory Board facilitated the tour and sat for a roundtable discussion with Senator Murray as she listened to the unique ways each organization is addressing and resolving their local needs, and how the hub could provide critical storage, infrastructure, and program expansion to strengthen their ability to grow their programs and come together to solve problems.
In discussing how the federal government can be part of the solution, Senator Murray says, “There are a lot of people still struggling with food insecurity today. It’s not the time to start cutting back on investments. It’s actually a time to really make sure we’re doing what we need for the future.”
ROUNDTABLE ATTENDEES:
U.S. Senator Patty Murray, bio
Megan Utemei, Office of US Senator Patty Murray, King County Outreach Director, Seattle
Yamila Sterling, Solid Ground, Food System Support Program Manager, Community Food Hub Advisory Committee
Adasha Turner, Founder, CEO, and Executive Director of Modest Family Solutions, BlackSeed Agroecology Farms
La Tanya Horace, Founder and Executive Director of The Silent Taskforce
David Bobanick, Executive Director of Harvest Against Hunger
Ray Williams, Director of Black Farmers Collective
Aaron Czyzewski, Director of Advocacy & Public Policy, Food Lifeline
Amanda Reeves, Community Engagement Manger, Food Lifeline
