‘Food is family:’ Seattle Mayor Harrell releases revised Food Action Plan
Sep 5, 2024, 6:00 PM
Pike Place Market in Seattle. (Photo: @simone.brunozzi via Flickr Creative Commons)
(Photo: @simone.brunozzi via Flickr Creative Commons)
Seattle’s original Food Action Plan was created in 2012 to address the problem of food insecurity in the City of Seattle. The numbers are startling. It’s estimated that 10% of adults and around 17% of children in Seattle experience food insecurity and the numbers are higher in communities of color.
On Thursday, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell released a revised Food Action Plan that will guide city departments over the next five years.
“Food is not only a basic need but essential to good health and quality of life,” Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said on his website. “We are building a city where all communities have access to fresh, affordable and culturally relevant foods regardless of their race, neighborhood or income.”
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It is a five-year plan to guide city departments and some 250 community partners in the implementation of programs and policies to lower the rate of food insecurity in Seattle.
“I know we have the political will,” Harrell said. “We have the community will and we need a plan and systems in place to do it and that’s why this is so important.”
The plan focuses on three areas: increasing community food security, supporting locally grown and traditional foods, advancing an equitable local economy and preventing food waste and climate pollution.
“By promoting food security and sovereignty, The Food Action Plan embodies our One Seattle values as it addresses economic, racial and environmental injustices,” Seattle City Council member Tanya Woo said.
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The program has more than 250 community partners, including food experts, food businesses and community leaders, making sure quality, nutritious food is available and affordable, no matter a family’s economic condition.
“Food is so much more than food,” community partner with Safeway/Albertson Sara Osbourne said. “Food is connection. Food is joy. Food is Tradition. And food is really family.”
James Lynch is a reporter at KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of James’ stories here. Follow James on X, or email him here.
