Farms for Life Provides Food for the Hungry and Income for Farmers

Across the U.S., one in every six adults and nearly one in every four kids struggle with hunger, according to the United Way of King County, which is educating the public about hunger during a week-long awareness program called Hunger Action Week.

As part of its program to end hunger, the United Way awarded Farms for Life a $10,500 grant to turn a giant shipping container into a refrigerated produce cooler and offset the electrical costs of operating the container.

“Our staff and foreman will do all the work on the container,” said Farms for Life founder Claire Thomas. “We gave away $11,000 worth of fresh produce last year."

Farms for Life is a local nonprofit that grows organic produce for area food banks and other programs that feed the hungry.

With the refurbished container, Thomas hopes the organization can deliver even more organic produce to other non-profit organizations. Thomas started Farms for Life as a way to both support local farms and get highly nutritious food to people who normally do not have access to fresh produce.

Much of the food is grown at , Thomas’ farm in the Sammamish Valley. More is grown at other farms in the region.

“Farmers are passionate about what they do; they want to feed everyone, but they have to make a profit,” she said. “Most of them work on a very slim margin and can’t grow any extra to give away.”

That’s where Farms for Life steps in and purchases fresh produce directly from local, sustainable farms at specially negotiated, reduced prices. This creates a constant and predictable demand, which helps the local farmers maintain their livelihoods in an increasingly competitive market, Thomas said. 

When it came to deciding which organizations to give the fresh produce, Thomas said she chose only those with a nutritional education component to the programs offered. In addition to delivering fresh produce, Farms for Life is dedicated to educating the people they serve about the benefits of eating local, fresh food and teaching them how to prepare simple, nutritious meals.

“That is the key: to show people in transition they can eat better foods that don’t come out of a box for just as cheaply as processed food,” Thomas said.

Currently Farms for Life provides food to YouthCare, New Beginnings, Elizabeth Gregory Home, Orion Center and local food banks at no cost to those charities.

Thomas said the crew at Root Connection worked extra hours last year to get all the food harvested, stored and delivered for the charities. She is currently looking for volunteers to help the Farms for Life program.