Our Mission

The mission of the Vashon Maury Community Food Bank is to work in partnership with our community to increase our island’s food security and connect people to the supporting resources they need to thrive.

Our Vision

We envision a diverse and inclusive island community in which everyone’s basic needs, such as food, clothing, housing, personal safety, and healthcare, are met.

Anti-Racism Statement

As an actively anti-racist organization, we acknowledge that institutional racism exists in food systems and is a key cause of poverty, hunger and malnutrition in communities of color across the country. We support racial, social and economic justice and strive for equity through access to nutritious food. We are committed to actively dismantling institutional racism and regular evaluation of how we play a role in it.

OUR HISTORY

Like many food banks in the Seattle area, the Vashon Food Bank was started in the late ‘70s as a small food pantry in the basement of the island’s Presbyterian Church. After a large round of Boeing layoffs resulted in an economic downturn, many working class families found themselves with reduced ability to pay for basic needs. A small group of church-goers committed themselves to helping out by collecting and distributing basic groceries to anyone in need. This group applied for and received 501(c)3 non-profit status in 1991 and moved the organization to Sunrise Ridge, a former military property in the central part of the island, in 1993.

Over the years, thanks to generous community support, the food bank has acquired assets (multiple walk-in freezers and refrigerators, two box trucks, two vans) that allow us to receive, store and distribute thousands of pounds of food every week. While the majority of the food we offer comes from partner agencies like Food Lifeline and Northwest Harvest, in Seattle, the Vashon Food Bank has long been committed to sourcing healthy, locally-grown produce from island farms and gardens and our very own garden.

Program Evolution:

2008 Services numbers spike as result of 2008 recession
2009 Start of on-site Food Bank Garden
2012 Expansion of grocery pick-up hours and Home Delivery program
2014 First year of Picnics in the Park summer meals program
2018 Shift to “Grocery Store” model
2020 Respond to COVID by designing order and pick-up model
Home Delivery program sees over 500% expansion from 30 households per week to about 150
Picnics in the Park transforms to Picnics to Go
2022 Design process for new food bank and Vashon social services hub began
2023 Re-opened for in-person grocery shopping
2025 Anticipated opening of new food bank and social services hub

While our service delivery model is flexible and adapts with the changing needs of the community, our commitment to the belief that access to nutritious food is a basic human right is unwavering. We work to reduce barriers to access as much as possible and believe that anyone who chooses to use the food bank is a person who needs to use the food bank.

In 2020, we saw unprecedented program adaptations and unprecedented support from the community that allows us to look boldly into the future to meet the growing needs of our community.