We are the unified voice for a strong emergency food system

Mission and History

The Washington Food Coalition (WFC) actively educates and networks with organizations that strive to alleviate hunger throughout Washington.

Incorporated in 1992 as a private non-profit, WFC is the result of a merger between the Western Washington Food Coalition and Eastern Washington's Northwest Regional Food Network.  With the goal of creating an efficient, reliable network of food programs in mind, volunteer coalition members first started working together to share best practices, struggles, and triumphs across the field.

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Now, WFC serves as the collective voice of more than 300 hunger relief agencies from across the state, from Walla Walla to Spokane to Moses Lake to Bellingham to Seattle to Vancouver and just about everywhere in between. Members of the WFC range from large, multi-service agencies and distribution warehouses, to meal programs and small volunteer-operated food banks in both urban and rural communities.

To help maximize our effectiveness, WFC is separated into 14 membership districts with locally elected Board Members representing every area of the state.  Each board member brings unique insight to the table about their geographic area to ensure the coalition has the widest perspective on statewide issues.  We believe this environment creates the most well rounded programs and initiatives, leading to a stronger Washington emergency food system. For more information about our membership districts please see our page on Member Governance.

Who We Are and What We Do

WFC is  membership-based coalition for emergency food providers.  To this end, WFC works to strengthen the emergency food system through:

  • A yearly 3-day conference & regional summits with training and networking opportunities
  • Training manuals & other resources
  • Technical Support
  • Partnerships to leverage advocacy efforts & develop better programs
  • Advocacy for emergency food funding
  • Education about the effects of state & federal legislation

With the ever changing environment surrounding emergency food, WFC also continually adapts our efforts to make sure our members receive the most out of their membership and ensure no one in Washington goes hungry.

 Mike Cohen and Suzanne Nevan

"Washington Food Coalition, I think, is a really nice group to be a part of because it is us: food banks, meal programs, as diverse as the people we serve. It is nice to be reminded of that when I meet big places that have a full professional staff and small places that are 100% volunteer-run. That’s who is the Washington Food Coalition.”

-Mike Cohen, Bellingham Food Bank

 

 

Joe Gruber

 

"Being part of Washington Food Coalition allows me to learn from the trial and errors of my colleagues from across the state. I’m able to adopt best practices and strategies that would work for programs that my food bank runs and learn to better implement them so that I can better serve my clients.”

-Joe Gruber, University District Food Bank