History

FEEST began in 2008 as part of the King County Food and Fitness Initiative, seeking a community and policy driven approach to reversing health inequities in some of Seattle’s lowest-income and most diverse neighborhoods. We began with weekly dinners in the bustling community kitchen of Youngstown Cultural Center in Delridge and quickly grew to be a staple of the center. After a number of successful years at Youngstown — including national replication work in New York, Oakland, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Orleans, and Detroit — FEEST made the strategic decision to move directly into two local high schools: Chief Sealth International High School in Delridge and Evergreen High School in White Center.

Over the years FEEST has worked to challenge the systems of oppression that impact our community’s relationship to food. FEEST youth identified and led projects in their schools and communities. Past projects included community-wide marketing campaigns to support healthy food choices, securing funding and support from school leadership for filtered water bottle filling stations at school, and leading a community mapping project to highlight young people’s solutions for the lack of access to healthy foods in the Delridge neighborhood.

Thorough our strategic planning process in 2016, we identified school food as the biggest opportunity for improving the health of young people in our community. FEEST youth leaders at Evergreen High School won an unprecedented student advisory committee with Highline Public Schools, giving them direct access to decision makers to advocate for more fresh and culturally relevant food items in the cafeteria. Today, youth-developed recipes are being served at all elementary, middle, and high schools in the district.

Building on the incredible success of our youth leaders, in 2018 we expanded our programs into two new schools: Rainier Beach High School in South Seattle and Tyee High School in Seatac.