Story & Photos by Kat Harttrup
UW News Lab

The sounds of a live band could be heard from outside the recently renovated building that houses the White Center Food Bank on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025 as they celebrated Lunar New Year with an open house. 

While the food bank, located at 10016 16th Ave SW, is focused on their main goal – providing food to those in need – the Lunar New Year event is one of several they throw each year to draw people to their facility. 

“In terms of Lunar New Year, it’s just kind of a home run for us,” said White Center Food Bank Executive Director Carmen Smith. “A lot of our customer base celebrate this holiday and so a few years ago we started procuring specialty foods for people that requested them but later we decided to open it up to all families whether they celebrate that holiday or not.” 

For this holiday, the food bank sourced culturally traditional foods such as rice flour, bok choy, rice noodles, some specific meats and oils. Other holidays they offer specific foods for include Ramadan, Cambodian New Year, Juneteenth, Thanksgiving and a celebratory winter meal. 

“We like to think that food is a great pathway to build community and get to know each other,” Smith said. 

The organization relies heavily on volunteers, many who have been with the food bank for several years, and focuses on culturally competent relationships, said long-time volunteer Ann Martin. She points out how difficult it is to seek assistance when you don’t speak the native language. Intake services are provided in nine languages, English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin, Khmer/Cambodian, Shanghainese and Chaozhou.

Their program is focused on getting food to families in need, though, and they work with local grocery providers to distribute free vouchers for fresh produce, Martin said. Customers leave with 10-15 lbs of produce every week, she said. 

The food bank opened their new $8.6 million space in January 2024. So far they have raised $7.6 million and still need to raise the last $1 million by the time they wrap up their capital campaign at the end of the year. 

“The Lunar New Year event isn’t a fundraiser, it’s a community building and donor appreciation event that has the potential to bring in new donors,” said Development and Communications Director Jefferson Rose. “The open house might also reach more people that need assistance. The event is one way the food bank is trying to eliminate the shame associated with using food banks.” 

When customers shop at the bank they aren’t just handed a box of random items they may or may not like. They are customers that push regular grocery carts through a store and choose the items that will best feed their families. Customers even get to vote on some of the produce that gets procured. Development and Events Coordinator Robert Fuentes tells us about the unique ways that White Center Food Bank serves its customers.

“Our intention with this event is to provide the food bank as not just a place for people to receive food and help with food security needs but also that it is a community center and it’s a place you should feel comfortable going to even if you’re not a customer,” said Fuentes. “We want to destigmatize the idea of going to a food bank, or redefine what a food bank necessarily means.”

Folks involved in the White Center Food Bank are working to become more connected with the local business community as well. They have created a summer event called Taste of White Center where they use sponsorship dollars to give each restaurant $500 and ask them to make 100 small tasting plates. Patrons then purchase tickets to try different plates. 

The first event in 2022 was such a success that they closed the street – 16th Avenue SW – the following year to do the event. Last year there were 40 restaurants participating. 

While the events at the food bank are fun ways to engage with the community, the organization uses them as a stepping stone to getting food to families in need. Even during the Lunar New Year event, Smith was thinking about making sure they could serve families if they came by.

“[The grocery store] isn’t open right now,” Smith said, “but if someone came by tonight and needed something we would absolutely be able to provide them with whatever groceries they needed for their family.”

Participants from the Rat City Art Walk came to contribute a demonstration of traditional fruit carving. This snake on the right  is being created to celebrate the year of the snake. (Photo Credit: Kat Harttrup)

Participants from the Rat City Art Walk came to contribute a demonstration of traditional fruit carving. This bouquet was created to sit next to the snake celebrating the year of the snake. (Photo Credit: Kat Harttrup) 

A group of musicians, mostly from White Center, got together to deliver a performance of crowd pleasing songs. (Photo Credit: Kat Harttrup)

Some of the people that make the White Center Food Bank run smoothly are (from left) Ann Martin and Abbas Alkinani, two longtime volunteers, and the treasurer for the Board of Directors, Amy French. They are showing off the quality of the produce available to their customers. (Photo Credit: Kat Harttrup)

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