This year’s Community Harvest Gala: Bread & Roses was rooted in the idea that everyone in our community deserves to access not only the “bread,” the food that nourishes our bodies, but the “roses,” representing joy and abundance. Together we gathered at Sodo Park, harnessing that spirit, to make this gala our most successful one yet, raising $250,000!

Looking to lend a hand by collecting food or raising funds to support RVFB this holiday season? Our Food & Funds Drive Kit is packed full of all the resources you’ll need to get started.

What could make a beautiful fall evening better than a chance to rekindle connections, meet new folks, and celebrate the growth and resilience of our organization?

We’re thankful for the many donors who help fuel our annual operating budget by partaking in GiveBig. This year we were thrilled to have more than 200 donors throughout the month, raising nearly $58,000!

The 14th Annual Cookie Party went off without a hitch on December 6th, providing an opportunity for community members, Geraldine’s Counter, and the Rainier Valley Food Bank to get together and celebrate the holiday season.

Our Gala is a celebration of resilience and growth, as well as an opportunity to recognize the generosity of the community that has sustained RVFB over the last years. We invite you to celebrate with friends, new and old, as we applaud the past and look excitedly to RVFB’s future.

Learn from Seattle’s renowned chef and owner of the Jerk Shack, the Caribbean star of downtown, Trey Lamont, in an exclusive cooking class as he teaches you to prepare his famous Rasta Pasta! You will have the opportunity to ask questions and get firsthand tips as you get a view right into Trey’s kitchen. 

Are you ready to feed community and plant the seeds of justice? We need you now more than ever.

GiveBIG is May 5th & 6th (with extended donations until 5/15), and you have the opportunity to join thousands of your neighbors in supporting the local organizations that cultivate sustainable social change in the Seattle area.

Grab your best dancing shoes (we suggest boots), slick jeans,  & big hats! Y’all, it’s time to dine and dance the night away with Rainier Valley Food Bank. So buy your tickets and get ready to party with us at Seattle’s one and only 20-acre horse farm!

Yes folks, it’s March. With the fluctuation in weather around Seattle you’d think it was November! Luckily we have March Madness to keep us inside, cozy, and engaged while we wait for warmer weather. In addition to the competitive nature of March Madness, Rainier Valley Food Bank is continuing with our yearly #MunchMadness fundraiser in partnership with Rookies Sports Bar and Grill and Backyard.

We had another fabulous time at Rainier BAAMFEST in July! This years’ theme was “Come Together.” In order to synchronize with this theme and involve food, we worked with local artist, Isobel Davis, to help bring our vision to life! Her idea was to create a life-size edible labyrinth which participants could walk, contemplate, and harvest its small but fruitful bounty. We also chose to incorporate mandalas, using multicolored dried legumes and grains.

#25daysofgratitude post is dedicated to the restaurants that make our annual Chow Down fundraiser possible. Each summer restaurants and bars in Columbia City and Hillman City provide quick, tasty bites for food adoring participants. Folks are able to partake in this delicious culinary adventure by purchasing a passport that is stamped at each location in exchange for an iconic bite. These passport sales directly benefit Rainier Valley Food Bank and highlight the unique and vibrant culinary culture of South Seattle.

It’s that time of year again, when the people of King County have an opportunity to join together and make a hugely positive impact. It’s easy to wonder “How can I as one person make any change?” When you give, your dollar will be combined with thousands of others to build healthier communities in our region. Together we can make an impact.

Even if you are not the world’s biggest sports fan you have surly heard of March Madness, the catchy name used for college basketball’s playoff tournament. Some of us are decked out in our college apparel right down to our underwear, while others can’t even name more than two Washington schools (University of Washington and what’s that other one called?) No matter what kind of fan you are there is no denying how fun it can be to get a burger, some beer and yell silly things at the TV for an hour or so.

That’s why The Rainier Valley Food Bank is once again partnering with Rookies Sports Bar and Grill to bring you #MunchMadness!!!

Shelly started volunteering at the food bank in early 2015. She came in once a week to help out with data entry, and always had a friendly story to tell. Shelly is new to running but she decided this year to run the Seattle Half Marathon and raise money for the Rainier Valley Food Bank. Running this distance and fundraising are two things she has never done before. By her own admission, it makes her nervous but she is determined to succeed!

While many in our region now enjoy the fruits of economic recovery, there remain many thousands for whom things have only changed for the worse. In fact, area food banks are serving more people now than they did at the peak of the recession. Rainier Valley Food Bank (RVFB) now serves more than twice the number of families they fed in 2009, and saw a staggering 32% increase in demand in 2014 alone.

Everyone here at Rainier Valley Food Bank (RVFB) loves spring; but spring also brings a significant set of challenges to the food bank. After the fervor of the winter holidays and the end-of-year contributions, RVFB sees a sizable dip in donations. A few months into the New Year, the wonderful and generous store of resources begins a slow drop, a “spring slump” for which we must prepare every year.

The Seattle Foundation’s GiveBIG event is back and we hope you’ll participate in this annual day of giving.

A classroom of kindergartners at Hawthorne Elementary School totally melted our hearts on Valentine’s Day. In just over a month, they collected more than $350 that will help us buy lots of fresh produce for our hungry neighbors. (Check out our Facebook photo galleries of Room 2’s coin-counting party and our Valentine’s Day visit.) Way to go, kids! And thanks to their awesome teacher, Katie Kribbs, for helping us pull it off.

Last year, we finally did it — elbow to merry elbow with dozens of other families at Geraldine’s Counter, which has hosted Rainier Valley Food Bank’s annual holiday cooking decorating party every year since it started back in 2008. Cookie decorating has never been a big thing in my family. Every year when the holidays roll around, it’s always been something we mean to do but never seem to squeeze in.