About Us

Our mission is to provide an emergency response to the nutritional needs of people in crisis hunger situations throughout Seattle and King County . We are dedicated to alleviating hunger while providing individuals with resource counseling to help move them towards independence. Our goal is to provide a proactive, non-traditional approach to food assistance that will eventually lead to self-reliance for individuals in need of services. Nearly half of all meals go to children.

How EFP’s Unique Model Helps Feed the Hungry in Our Community

The reality of hunger in this nation of plenty is staggering.  The latest statistics available from the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture show that, nationwide, 35.1 million people—including 12.4 million children—experience hunger or the risk of hunger every year.  Despite efforts such as the food stamp program, local food banks, and hot meal programs, in the state of Washington alone some 88,000 people simply go hungry each year.  Another 251,000 people are stretched so close to the edge financially that on any given day they can’t be sure whether they can afford to go to the grocery store and buy food for their families. 

Rising gas, heating and housing costs further limit the ability of local families to purchase adequate food.  For far too many of our neighbors, a large heating bill, a sickness or injury that requires a doctor’s visit or medication, a car repair bill, or even something as basic as the need for new school clothes can force a family into having to make an impossible choice: Do we pay the bill or do we put food on the table?

Making these impossible choices unnecessary is the mission of the Emergency Feeding Program of Seattle & King County .   Working through a network of over 130 partner agencies, schools and faith communities, EFP annually distributes more than 20,000 nutritionally-balanced emergency food bags—the equivalent of 285,000 meals—to some 68,000 of our hungry neighbors, nearly half of whom are children, making a real difference in the lives of needy, often desperate, individuals and families. 

Since 1977, the Emergency Feeding Program has challenged the Puget Sound community to come together to combat the problem of local hunger using a truly unique model of service.  Because no two households are the same, EFP packs and distributes 14 different varieties of high-quality, nutritionally-balanced emergency food bags.  These bags are sized according to family and address the individual nutritional needs and food preferences of our client households. 

In addition to our three sizes of standard bags, we offer bags that feature:

All of EFP’s food bags were developed in consultation with qualified nutritionists to ensure that they truly meet the needs of those who reach out to us.

EFP has earned the following awards:

Major Donors

Annual Events

     
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WINTER Food Drive

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Virtual Food Drive

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