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Fresh Bucks Public Lottery Application Now Open

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The Fresh Bucks Public Lottery is now open for applications! The application opened yesterday, October 11th, and will stay open until October 29th, 2021.

Eligible Seattle households may submit a Public Lottery application for $40 in Fresh Bucks benefits to use on fruit and vegetable purchases starting in 2022. Residents may apply online or over the phone ((206) 684-2489). Only one application per household is required.

With Fresh Bucks electronic benefits, which was just launched on October 4th of this year, your monthly benefits will be loaded on your card every month, which means no more waiting for paper vouchers to arrive in the mail!

All eligible, unduplicated applications received within the Public Lottery application period will be entered into a public lottery. Your chances of being selected in the lottery are the same whether you apply online or over the phone.

Even if you are already a Fresh Bucks customer, you still need to apply for the 2022 benefits year. If you are contacted by a partner organization, you may be enrolled into the program without submitting a Public Lottery application. Otherwise, we invite you to apply to the lottery.

To apply, you will need the following information:

  • Number of people in your household
  • Total household income
  • Current home address
  • Your Fresh Bucks Card Number (for current Fresh Bucks customers only)

Learn more at SeattleFreshBucks.org

White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda Mallory Visits Seattle to Talk Buildings and Climate

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The buildings we live and work in are responsible for more than 1/3rd of Seattle’s climate pollution, primarily due to the on-site burning of fossil fuels such as fracked gas and oil for heating, hot water and appliances. OSE’s Buildings & Energy team works to develop and implement policies and programs to mitigate climate change in the buildings space, which covers commercial, multi-family, residential, and even our own municipal facilities.

Chair Mallory at Hobson Place

On October 6th, OSE was thrilled to host Chair Brenda Mallory and staff from the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), along with Seattle’s Finance and Administrative Services (FAS), City Light, and Office of Housing to talk about some of the work we are doing to improve the energy efficiency, and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Seattle’s building stock.

First up was a stop at the Seattle Justice Center, which hosts both the Seattle Police Headquarters and the Seattle Municipal Court. Seattle has been at the forefront nationally to increase building efficiency and reduce emissions in existing buildings through policies like Energy Benchmarking and Building Tune-Ups programs. Check out this Seattle Justice Center Case Study detailing how the building operations team and the Tune-Up Specialist team collaborated to go above and beyond on a suite of improvements to the Seattle Justice Center.

CEQ staff then joined OSE, City Light, and the Office of Housing at Hobson Place, a permanent supportive housing building and clinic. This building is using strategies to maximize efficiency, including electric heat pumps instead of fossil fuels, improved insulation, solar, and more, and is on track to be the first permanent supportive housing project in Washington State to achieve Passive House certification.

Both the Seattle Justice Center and Hobson place are examples of Seattle’s approach to meeting its climate goals in the building sector in action. With new construction, like Hobson Place, the City is working to stop buildings going up from incorporating fossil fuels in the systems. In February, Seattle updated its Commercial Energy Code to limit fossil fuels for most uses in new construction, substantial alterations, and when equipment is upgraded. And for existing buildings, we are working to transition away from gas-fired systems to efficient electric systems.

The next urgent priority for Seattle is to establish climate pollution standards, or building performance standards, for our largest existing commercial and multifamily buildings. Washington State has established innovative Clean Building Performance Standards to deepen the energy efficiency of existing commercial buildings. This is a great next step towards better performing buildings and we are very supportive of the state’s work, but in terms of GHG emissions from Seattle buildings, we project to see only approximately 4% reduction in overall building sector emissions. In contrast, by developing and implementing Seattle specific building performance standards, we expect to be able to reduce overall building emissions by 27%.

For more information about Building Performance Standards including more details about the Washington State law, check out OSE’s website: https://www.seattle.gov/environment/climate-change/buildings-and-energy/building-performance-standards

Seattle’s Fresh Bucks Program Launches Electronic Benefits to Offer a More Equitable Shopping Experience

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Over 12,000 Seattle residents enrolled in Fresh Bucks can now shop with their Fresh Bucks Card or app, eliminating the need for paper vouchers and improving customer and retailer experiences.

Fresh Bucks, a healthy food program that provides monthly cash assistance to eligible and enrolled Seattle residents so they can buy fruits and vegetables, is providing customers a new way to shop for produce using an electronic benefits system. The new system replaces the use of paper vouchers, leading to smoother transactions at checkout and an improved experience for over 12,000 Fresh Bucks customers and 43 participating retailers and farmers markets.

“Families on a tight budget consistently say cost is the primary barrier to buying and eating healthy food. Fresh Bucks directly addresses this barrier by increasing the purchasing power of lower income families so they can afford more fruits and vegetables,” said Mayor Jenny Durkan. “I have been proud to see the Fresh Bucks program grow, and am excited for this move to electronic benefits, which came as a response to community feedback.”

The ability to pay for Fresh Bucks fruit and vegetable purchases with a card or app will reduce the stigma customers may experience using paper vouchers at checkout. With e-benefits, households that use Fresh Bucks will have the same shopping experience as consumers using other forms of payment at the grocery checkout line. With the new system, customers have access to a Fresh Bucks account that is automatically loaded with $40 each month. Customers can use a Fresh Bucks Card or an app linked to their account to purchase fruits and vegetables at participating Fresh Bucks retailers.

The new system also provides real-time transaction reporting and retailer reimbursement within two business days, reducing challenges for small grocers, farmers, and other business owners who accept Fresh Bucks. Finally, the system will standardize how benefits are processed across different participating retailers, which will streamline the City’s efforts to make Fresh Bucks accepted at even more retail locations.

“As a Fresh Bucks community partner, I am thrilled to be a part of the e-benefits launch,” said Luzmila Freese, Community Program Director at Latino Community Fund. “Our clients were accustomed to receiving paper vouchers in the mail every month and this was burdensome and presented program challenges. The new process is streamlined and as easy as scanning your card or app for payment. At the end of the day, families should be able to afford healthy foods and that process should be simple and that’s what the e-benefits model does.”

Later this fall and throughout the coming year, the Office of Sustainability and Environment is expected to announce a variety of new retailers where customers can use their Fresh Bucks, including large supermarkets, small independent stores, and grocers that offer culturally specific produce items. The new retailers were recruited through a competitive application process that ran in spring 2021.

Seattle residents interested in applying for 2022 Fresh Bucks benefits can submit an application to the public lottery between October 11 to October 29, 2021. Applications are available in 14 languages and will be accepted online or over the phone by calling 1-800-756-5437.

To learn more about e-benefits and how to apply for Fresh Bucks visit www.SeattleFreshBucks.org.

For questions about promotional materials and communications, contact Narita Ghumman, narita.ghumman@seattle.gov or 206-256-5502.

For all other Fresh Bucks inquiries, reach us at Freshbucks@seattle.gov or 206-684-2489.

Fresh Bucks is funded by Seattle’s Sweetened Beverage Tax and General Fund and operated by Seattle’s Office of Sustainability and Environment.

Mayor Durkan Proposes $1.7 Million in 2022 Budget to Fund Oil-to-Electric Heat Pump Conversions for Low-and-Middle-Income Households

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Investment supports efforts to reduce pollution to meet climate goals, prevent soil and groundwater contamination, and improve air quality

In her 2022 budget address, Mayor Durkan announced $1.7 million to support residents in converting from dirty and expensive heating oil to clean electric heat pumps, including funds to provide no-cost heat pumps for approximately 125 low-income households. The budget also funds inclusive outreach and engagement with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities that have borne the worst impacts of climate change, environmental hazards, and systemic racism.   

In 2019, Seattle passed the Heating Oil Tax, which sets a.24 cents per gallon tax on oil service providers with a goal to fully phase out the use of oil heat by 2028. Delayed due to COVID-19, the heating oil tax law will go into effect in April 2022 and create a funding source that helps pay for electric heat pumps for low- and middle-income households currently heating with oil.  

“We can’t wait any longer to stop burning fossil fuels. Our climate and our communities need action now,” said Jenny Durkan, Mayor, City of Seattle. “With these funds, we are seeking to backfill lost revenue from the delayed oil heat tax and accelerate Seattle’s efforts to phase out polluting fossil fuels and provide residents in need with cleaner air, lower bills, and air conditioning for our increasingly dangerous summer heat.”  

Eliminating the use of fossil fuels is a critical component to meeting Seattle’s climate goals and stemming the worse impacts of climate change. Heating oil represents 16-18% of total carbon pollution in the residential sector and 9% of carbon pollution in the total buildings sector. It is estimated that more than 400,000 MTC02e will be reduced over a 10-year period by phasing out heating oil to clean electricity. 

“Buildings are responsible for more than 1/3rd of Seattle’s climate pollution and rising,” said Christine Bunch, Climate & Energy Advisor, Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment. “We estimate that there are between 15,000 and 18,000 households in Seattle heating with oil. Converting them to Seattle’s clean electricity will reduce our climate pollution by the same amount as taking 90,000 cars off the road for an entire year.”  

In addition to reducing carbon emissions, converting households from oil to clean electricity also has these benefits: 

  • Reducing pollution, overall energy use, and heating bills through the equitable adoption of clean heating technologies such as heat pumps.  
  • Air-conditioning and air filtration that will be important as we experience longer summers,  hotter temperatures, and more wildfire smoke due to climate change. 
  • Preventing future oil leaks from underground storage tanks that can contaminate the soil and ground water, and that can be hazardous to human health.  
  • Reducing future environmental damage, cleanup costs, and economic burdens to households. 

In future years, this programming at both the Office of Sustainability and Environment and Office of Housing will be supported by revenues from the Heating Oil Tax, which has been delayed until April 2022.  

“Providing no-cost conversions from heating oil to electric heat pumps has made a huge difference in the lives of the homeowners and families we have served so far,” said Emily Alvarado, Director, Seattle Office of Housing. “Not only do these conversions keep residents healthier and more comfortable throughout the year, but the associated energy savings also help low- and middle-income households afford to stay in their homes. This is especially important for households of color who are at the greatest risk of experiencing displacement, housing instability, and negative health outcomes from climate change and other environmental factors.” 

Since 2017, the City has provided nearly 775 rebates and since 2019 has converted 65 low-income households at no cost, to clean electric heat pumps. The City offers a $1,500 instant rebate on qualified heat pumps installed by a participating installer. A list of installers can be found at www.NoMoreOilHeat.com  Mayor Durkan released her proposed 2022 budget and transmitted to council on Monday, September 27. More here: www.seattle.gov/budget

Mayor Durkan Announces More Than Eight Million in Investments To Support The Duwamish Valley In 2022 Budget Proposal

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Community members joined Mayor Durkan and City staff at the Duwamish Waterway Park to announce and celebrate these investments

On Friday, September 24, 2021, Mayor Jenny A. Durkan announced more than $8.5 million in proposed 2022 budget investments to support the Duwamish Valley neighborhoods of South Park and Georgetown.   

Mayor Durkan joins South Park and Georgetown community members at the Duwamish Waterway Park to announce proposed budget investments

Investments will center around expanding youth leadership and capacity building in the Duwamish Valley, funding essential improvements to community gathering spaces, improving mobility and access to greenspace and the Duwamish River, Seattle’s only river, improving air and environmental quality, and supporting local businesses and workforce development.     

“This announcement is another important step forward to realizing the community’s vision of a more inclusive, equitable, and vibrant Duwamish Valley,” said Mayor Jenny Durkan. “With these investments, we strive to honor the needs of these communities and reverse years of inequities and environmental injustice to build a more just and prosperous Duwamish Valley for all.”

Since 2016, the City has worked closely with community-based organizations in South Park and Georgetown to understand the community’s vision for the rapidly changing neighborhood where many residents and businesses are acutely feeling the pressures of displacement and the impacts of environmental degradation and climate change. In 2018, Mayor Durkan released the Duwamish Valley Action Plan, setting forth a series of actions and strategies to expand economic opportunity, make environmental progress, and increase investments in the South Park and Georgetown communities.  

The proposed budget prioritizes investments in these key areas for the Duwamish Valley Program and will build on grant-funded work establishing a Duwamish Valley Resilience District. These efforts are also intended to advance the goals and principles of the Green New Deal by focusing on job creation and a just transition away from fossil fuels, and the City’s Transportation Electrification Blueprint and Maritime and Industrial Strategy. Significant budget components include:  

  • $4.3M for building, energy, and community resilience improvements to essential gathering spaces in South Park and Georgetown. 
  • $1.75M to improve 8th Ave. S and the street end park to safely link the Georgetown community to its only waterfront access.  
  • $1M to fund a one-time program of incentives to convert polluting, diesel-powered heavy-duty vehicles to operate on clean electric power for operations in the Duwamish Valley. These include vehicles like drayage trucks, school buses, and other fleets. 
  • $850K to support neighborhood businesses, advance clean energy workforce development, green industrial lands, and advance priorities of the Industrial & Maritime Strategy.  
  • $693K for youth leadership development, community capacity building, and recreational programming. 

“From our youth to our immigrant and refugee neighbors, to our small business owners and workers, the Duwamish Valley communities have long experienced disinvestment  , over-planning, and under-delivery of City services and projects,” said Paulina López, a South Park resident and Executive Director of the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition. “I commend the City and Mayor Durkan for taking such an intentional and comprehensive approach to ensure our youth, our community receives the investments needed to yield health, environmental, and economic benefits for years to come.” 

“I am incredibly excited about the opportunities these investments present for everyone in the Duwamish Valley, both residents and industries,” said Sam Farrazaino with Georgetown Steam Plant Community Development Authority and Equinox Development Unlimited LLC. “These investments will help us implement recommendations in the Maritime & Industrial Strategy related to greening industries, support for local businesses, and workforce development. And how about those funds to improve 8th Ave. S.? Georgetown residents will finally have the waterfront park they deserve and be able to safely access the Duwamish River! We are ready to roll up our sleeves and continue working with the City to advance climate and community resilience in our communities.” 

Seattle’s Duwamish Valley Program is a multi-departmental effort jointly led by Seattle’s Office of Sustainability & Environment and Office of Planning and Community Development to advance the environmental justice and equitable development goals outlined in the Equity & Environment Agenda and Equitable Development Implementation Plan. Focused on the Duwamish Valley neighborhoods of South Park and Georgetown, the program is driven by environmental justice guiding principles, racial equity outcomes, community input, and a commitment to community-led planning. 

City of Seattle Department Directors, from left to right, SDOT, Parks, OSE, OPCD

“The Duwamish Valley has supported resilient communities since time immemorial – from the fishing and winter campgrounds of the Duwamish Tribe to the people living in it today, but we know these communities also face unprecedented burdens” said Alberto J. Rodríguez, the City’s Duwamish Valley Advisor and co-lead of the Duwamish Valley Program. “The Duwamish Valley communities are working to adapt and thrive in the face of climate change impacts related to sea level rise, pollution, and environmental injustice, and these investments are a result of years of community advocacy, inclusive engagement, and work to achieve environmental justice and equity. I am proud to be part of this work and to continue to learn from and support these communities.”  

In addition to these budget investments, Mayor Durkan recently signed a bill directing the Office of Housing to acquire two adjacent parcels that provide 18,000 sq. ft. of developable land for new affordable housing in South Park, and the Seattle Parks & Recreation department recently acquired a one-acre property on South Elmgrove St. to expand the Duwamish Waterway Park and provide flexible and accessible community space.  

The City of Seattle also received a $600,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to work with community partners in the Duwamish Valley on a strategy that will improve health, increase community resilience, and adapt to the impacts of a changing climate, including creating a Duwamish Valley Resilience District. 

Mayor Durkan will delivered her annual budget address on Monday, September 27. Learn more at www.seattle.gov/budget.   

City of Seattle Releases Newly Updated Urban Forest Management Plan

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Trees are fundamental to the character of Seattle and to our quality of life. In our rapidly changing climate, Seattle’s urban forest is an increasingly important asset, playing a critical role in mitigating climate change impacts, including heat island effects, as well as supporting Seattle’s public health, providing habitat for wildlife, creating spaces for exploration and enjoyment, cleaning our air and water, and reducing the quantity of stormwater runoff, further helping water quality.

This year’s extreme heat events have had devastating impacts, especially in low income and Black, Indigenous, People of Color communities. Trees are an effective tool to reduce the impacts of heat events, reducing temperatures in and around homes. The role of trees in mitigating this significant and increasing impact to our community underscores how important it is to ensure the urban forest is effectively managed.

Updated Urban Forest Management Plan Provides a Roadmap to a Healthy Urban Forest

Seattle’s newly updated Urban Forest Management Plan provides a framework for policy and action that guides City government decision-making to help Seattle maintain, preserve, enhance, and restore its urban forest.

The core of the plan is a set of outcomes, strategies, actions, and indicators that will guide department staff in supporting a healthy and sustainable urban forest across Seattle’s publicly and privately owned lands.

The suite of actions included in the plan support and protect the urban forest through its full range of growth and development, from on-the-ground tree maintenance and stewardship to promote the health and longevity of the existing canopy; to focusing City tree planting and maintenance in communities that are harmed first and worst by the effects of extreme heat and other inequities; to planning for an urban forest that can withstand the next several centuries in a changing climate by identifying tree species resilient to climate change and pests; to investing in restoration of forested natural areas that provide a welcome respite from summer weather and an in-city forest refuge for our communities and wildlife; to incentivizing tree planting and stewardship on private land through providing trees, education, and resources; to actions aimed at protecting the urban forest, such as updating tree protection regulations. The plan also includes actions to enhance coordination and communication and to further build relationships with BIPOC and low-income communities so that they realize all the benefits of Seattle’s trees and green spaces.

The guiding principles of the Plan are a diverse, comprehensive set of outcomes developed by the multi-departmental Urban Forestry Core Team through a robust, inclusive engagement process:

  1. Racial and social equity. Urban forestry benefits and responsibilities are shared fairly across communities, community trust is built, and decisions are guided by diverse perspectives, including those of environmental justice priority communities.
  2. Ecosystems and human health. The urban forest improves air quality, human well-being, public health and water quality; provides beauty, environmental and economic benefits, fish and wildlife habitat, food, outdoor fun; and helps store rainwater.
  3. Human safety and property protection. In implementing the work, urban forestry teams use up-to-date practices to protect the safety of the public and staff.
  4. Climate change. Urban forestry work helps people, and urban trees and vegetation adapt to, recover from, and mitigate the impacts of climate change.
  5. Community care. The Seattle community, including all people, organizations, institutions, and businesses, works together to appreciate and care for the urban forest and to understand tree protection regulations.
  6. Balance competing priorities. City government will work to grow, maintain, preserve, enhance, and restore Seattle’s urban forest as it meets other priorities. Urban forestry practices and policies work with and support other City and community goals including access to spaces, climate action, culturally appropriate resource provision, economic development, environmental protection, social justice, food and medicine production, housing, balancing tree shade with light, public safety, recreation, transportation, and utility provision.

In order to achieve these outcomes, the Plan includes seven overarching strategies that represent a comprehensive approach to mobilizing informed and effective action. A prioritized set of actions, including the actions described above as well as others, form the action agenda through which the Plan will be implemented and through which the urban forest is managed.

An Integrated Approach to Urban Forest Management

Seattle’s urban forestry functions are organized in an integrated approach, where the responsibilities for the work are housed in nine departments that conduct urban forestry work. These departments worked together to develop this plan and will lead implementation to ensure effective management of this citywide resource across the departments.

The City’s first Urban Forest Management Plan was created in 2007; this is the second update of the Plan.

The City’s Urban Forestry Core Team members worked with their department leadership and staff teams throughout the plan development process. It was also important to hear from community in preparing this update, so an inclusive engagement plan was created to reach out to historically underrepresented communities as the plan was developed.

A Robust, Inclusive Engagement Process

That public engagement plan was carried out in two phases, with initial outreach focusing on BIPOC communities, as well as other key stakeholders, in 2018-19 prior to putting pen to paper. The first draft of the plan was created with that initial input.

The second phase included engagement with and feedback from the Urban Forestry Commission as well as sharing the draft plan with the community and other key stakeholders. Listening session participants and the Community Based Organizations that supported BIPOC engagement in Phase I were also re-engaged in order to make sure we incorporated their input into the goals, strategies, and actions.

All of this input was summarized and considered, and appropriate changes incorporated into the Plan. The team then conducted the SEPA process, which resulted in a Determination of Non-Significance which was not appealed. With the SEPA process finalized, the plan moved to final production and is now published.

The City’s Urban Forestry teams look forward to working together and with community partners to implement the action agenda and continue ensuring the health of this important resource today and for many generations to come. More information on the plan and the City’s Urban Forestry work is available on the Trees for Seattle website.

Environmental Justice Fund Application is Now Open

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Image Text: Environmental Justice Fund

The application process is now open for the Environmental Justice Fund, a grant opportunity that supports community-led projects that improve environmental conditions, respond to impacts of climate change, and get us closer to achieving environmental justice. The deadline to apply is Monday, September 13 at 4pm. 

Application Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/EJF2021

This year, up to $750,000 is available for grants thanks to City Council’s adoption of the Equitable Communities Initiative Task Force recommendations which allocated an additional $500,000 to the Environmental Justice Fund. The Equitable Communities Initiative Task Force is a diverse group of people of color and community leaders representing a cross-section of industries, including environmental justice, who came together to spearhead the process of developing recommendations for a $30 million investment into our BIPOC communities. Funds will be administered by the Bullitt Foundation. Projects will be awarded no less than $25,000 and no more than $75,000 for an 18-month period beginning January 2022.

Selected members of Seattle’s Environmental Justice Committee play a critical role in the oversight of the fund. The Committee’s goal is to deepen the influence of communities of color in City environmental programs to ensure that the stories, experiences, and policy priorities of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color shape Seattle’s environmental work. The Committee is guided by the Equity & Environmental Agenda, a roadmap to advance race and social justice within Seattle’s environmental work. 

To learn more about the Fund, the review process, qualities of a strong proposal and to ask questions, join an upcoming virtual information session. RSVP here for first session that will take place on Monday, August 16 at 3pm and RSVP here for the second session taking place on Wednesday, August 25 at 12pm.  

Application: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/EJF2021

The Fresh Bucks 2020 Impact Report is Here!

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The Fresh Bucks program, administered by the Office of Sustainability and Environment and funded by the City of Seattle Sweetened Beverage Tax, has announced the release of its 2020 Impact Report.

During an exceptionally challenging year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Fresh Bucks was there to help Seattle residents stretch their grocery dollar. Fresh Bucks enrolled more than 12,100 Seattle households to receive $3.2 million in Fresh Bucks benefits to use at 30 participating retailers, including 4 BIPOC-owned community grocers. 

Over 70% of all households participating in Fresh Bucks Vouchers were from the program’s priority communities—those populations that face the greatest food insecurity. And 76% of all participants identified as BIPOC. We are so grateful for the outreach and enrollment efforts of our partners: 10 community-based organizations and 7 health clinics that are rooted in BIPOC, immigrant, and refugee communities. 

To learn more about how Fresh Bucks and its partners met the needs of program participants last year, see the 2020 Fresh Bucks Impact Report.

For general information on the program, please visit SeattleFreshBucks.org or call 206-684-2489.

Serving the Community: Seattle’s COVID-19 Emergency Food Response

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The City of Seattle recently released a report about the emergency food response during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and thanking the many partners involved in supporting our residents. Since the beginning, food security has been a top concern as the unprecedented health and economic crisis dramatically increased the number of households struggling to put food on their tables.

The City joined partners across King County to pivot the investments of some employees to focus on increasing food-related services. Of particular concern were residents disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and economic downturn, including older adults, low-income children and families, communities of color, immigrants, refugees, and
unsheltered individuals. Below are a few highlights of these activities:

Food Banks and Meal Programs

With a sudden and significantly increased demand for food and meals, food banks quickly changed their service models to keep staff and customers safe and began or expanded meal delivery programs. The City supported these efforts by partnering with the Seattle Food Committee to provide and distribute personal protective equipment (PPE), sanitation supplies, and bulk purchases of high-demand, nutrient dense foods. The City also increased its usual investments to Seattle Food Committee members, providing more than $2.4 million in direct grants in 2020 and more than $1 million in 2021 to support food bank operation and food needs.

Meal programs that serve older adults and those experiencing or transitioning out of homelessness also quickly pivoted and ramped up their services. In the first year of the pandemic, more than one million meals were provided at over 40 shelters and permanent supportive housing programs thanks to partnerships with OSL Serves and FareStart. Older adults across King County received more than 950,000 meals from more than 50 meal sites and programs through home delivery and pick-up.

Transportation

King County Metro (through the Access paratransit program) and Sound Generations (Hyde Shuttles) provided critical support to the senior meal programs and food banks. These services pivoted from passenger transportation to delivering food and meals to older adults and other vulnerable populations. The two organizations made over 216,000 trips to deliver products from food banks and meal programs to older adults and others in need.

Food Banks and Meal Programs

Community Food Fund Grants

Through a partnership with United Way of King County (UWKC), 25 community groups received nearly $1 million in grants to support efforts such as providing culturally appropriate meals for seniors, running pop-up food sites, supporting urban agriculture and community gardening, and collaborating with culturally relevant restaurants to provide hot meals to vulnerable communities. The City and UWKC recently extended these grants through September 2021 with an additional $1 million so organizations can continue serving their communities.

“The grocery delivery service was a lifesaver and was an extremely welcome resource during the winter season. Being able to have access to staples for holding me over during the rainy, colder months to make healthy foods has been an incredible gift.”

Queer the Land client. Queer the Land used the Community Food Fund grant to provide perishable and non-perishable food to a network of Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities in South Seattle.

Staffing

(U.S. National Guard photo by Joseph Siemandel)

Food banks and meal programs are highly dependent on volunteers, many of whom are older adults and thus more vulnerable to COVID-19. As a result, service providers saw a significant decrease in volunteers at a time when demand was increasing, and delivery models became more labor-intensive. To help address this challenge, HSD redeployed more than 60 employees to meal programs from May-July 2020. The City also joined countywide efforts to advocate for the National Guard to be deployed to support the essential functions of the city’s emergency food system. National Guard members worked at food banks and meal programs throughout 2020 and into 2021, with around 123 deployed at 23 Seattle food banks and King County (including Seattle) senior meal programs at the end of December.

Partners including UWKC and the Washington State Department of Commerce also increased the number of AmeriCorps members assigned to hunger relief service providers. In March 2021, the Department of Commerce began providing a temporary employee placement program in partnership with workforce development councils to continue meeting staffing needs as the National Guard deployments began to wind down.

School Meals

Seattle Public Schools operated 41 meal sites and several delivery options to ensure that families of students could still access school meals even while the district was operating under remote and hybrid learning models. The City partnered with the school district and other community-based organizations to supplement these efforts. As of March 2021, these partnerships have provided more than 83,000 fresh bags of produce, 78,000 weekend food backpacks, and 9,000 holiday meals.

“SPS kitchen managers relish the days they can promote fresh, healthy foods at meal sites. They’ve noticed significant increases in participation rates on the days produce bags are available.”

Emme Collins, Head Chef, Seattle Public Schools

Emergency Grocery Vouchers

The City set up a new Emergency Grocery Voucher program within the first weeks of the pandemic and provided more than 14,000 households with seven months of grocery assistance.

“My family has been receiving grocery vouchers from the city and I just wanted to say thank you. I don’t know how to express in words how much this has meant to us. It’s provided us security in these difficult times, and showed that we aren’t forgotten. We matter to our city. I love Seattle!”

Grocery Voucher Recipent

View the recently published report to learn more about these and other efforts to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 through March 2021.

The City of Seattle is deeply grateful for, and humbled by, the community partners who directly served people food and meals every day, and for the agencies and organizations that provided systems support, grants, and more in a collaborative response to community needs. The City recognizes that the economic impacts of this crisis will outlast the public health emergency. Addressing food insecurity and supporting a sustainable food system alongside community partners will continue to be a priority as the City considers a just recovery.

Reflecting on the PNW Heatwave

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We have finally made it out of the record-breaking heatwave that passed through the Pacific Northwest this past weekend, hitting Seattle hard and sending temperatures soaring to an ultimate high of 108 degrees on Monday. This dangerous heat is indicative of a pattern of extreme weather due to climate change and underscores the urgency to adapt to what could become a pattern in the coming years, combat harm to the environment, and put as much of a damper on climate change as possible. The effects of the heat can also help us more clearly see the disproportionate ways in which climate change aggravates inequalities already present.

Extreme heat can be very harmful and often life-threatening. It can lead to heat exhaustion, and eventually severe illness and death due to a much higher possibility for heatstroke or cardiovascular disease. There are inequities in how different communities within Seattle are affected by extreme temperature. While those who are well-off can buy an AC or fan, or at the very least stay indoors, many people do not have that luxury. Unhoused people do not have any of these privileges, making them much more vulnerable than others. There are also people across the city that cannot afford different safety mechanisms to survive the heat.

Another aspect of the heat that contributes to inequality is that urbanized areas in this city (where there are more buildings, parking lots, and pavement) hold onto heat for longer and therefore put residents in danger for greater periods of time, while people in higher income neighborhoods with more greenery and trees are less in danger from extreme weather. This was recently highlighted in a heat mapping project, a joint project from King County and the City of Seattle.

The city of Seattle and King County are working to combat climate change in various ways. The city is pursuing key goals, such as electrifying transportation as much as possible, continuing a shift to clean energy for new and existing buildings, and pursuing other environmental protection policies. Meanwhile, King County is working on ways in which we can mitigate the effects of extreme weather, and perhaps slow warming. There are multiple tree-planting initiatives, “greenspace protection” under the Land Conservation Initiative, improvement of bus stop and park layout, especially in areas with priority groups that are more at risk, and more.

We may start to see weather like this happening more often, so while we are fighting the root cause of the heatwaves and snowstorms, make sure you are keeping safe and healthy as much as you can. During heatwaves, it is best to stay inside, keep very hydrated, and keep yourself informed about conditions.