Woodinville's Farms for Life Providing Food for the Hungry and Income for Farmers

Did you know that one in every six adults and nearly one in every four  kids struggle with hunger in America? That is the questions the United Way of King County is posing to the public this week during its 5 Days 5 Ways to end hunger campaign.

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 cooling container.

“Our staff and foreman will do all the work on the container,” said Claire Thomas, founder of the charity that grows organic produce for local food banks and other programs that feed the hungry. “We gave away $11,000 worth of fresh produce last year.”

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.

A lot of the produce is grown at , Thomas’s farm in the Sammamish Valley. More is grown at other farms in the region.

“Farmer’s 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, she said. 

When it came to choosing organizations to donate the fresh produce to Thomas said she chose only those with a nutritional education component to the programs offered.

“Our goal is to provide high quality, fresh food to people in transition. At shelters with women from domestic violence situations or women in shelters with their children. We wanted to reach as many people as possible for we chose groups in the Seattle area,” Thomas said.

In addition to delivering fresh produce, Farms for Life is dedicated to educating the people we 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.

 Thmas 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.