Fresh, Free, and Full of Power 🍊

This Image is of FEEST Students + Staff, standing at their Fresh Fruit’s and Veggies produce table!

At Chief Sealth and Rainier Beach High Schools, something bold and beautiful is growing: Student Organizers are transforming snack time into a practice of care, creativity, and collective power.

This spring, FEEST launched a pilot expansion of the Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program (FFVP) in partnership with the City of Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment (OSE), Seattle Public Schools, and Cascadia Produce. FFVP is a program that distributes fresh fruits and veggies to students at Chief Sealth and Rainier Beach high schools in SPS. Every decision in this pilot, from what snacks to serve to where and when to serve them, was shaped by Student Organizers who care deeply about their peers and their school communities. They weren’t just distributing food; they were practicing food justice in real time.

This work is part of a larger legacy. Back in 2019, FEEST Student Organizers co-designed a snack box pilot through the Healthy Food Round Table, a collaboration that brought CSA-style fruit crates to Evergreen and Chief Sealth High Schools. That program demonstrated how fresh, free snacks could boost student focus, improve mood, and spark deeper connections across classrooms. Students led every piece of that project too: from identifying barriers to food access, to designing culturally relevant menus, to mapping out “hot spot” distribution zones across their campuses.

Supporting the FFVP expansion today are FEEST staff members Hanan and Belina, who have been collaborating with Student Organizers to plan distributions, gather feedback, and reflect on what it means to bring joy, nourishment, and choice into school spaces. From the logistics to the big-picture strategy, students are leading with care for their communities—and this pilot is just the beginning.

This image is of the cover page of FEEST’s 2020 Healthy Food Round Table Report, which features FEEST Students with produce boxes. 

You can read more about the HFRT by checking out FEEST’s Publications here.  ⬇️

Image is of fresh oranges that were given out at Chief Sealth High School! 

Student Organizers practiced systems thinking: identifying problems, testing solutions, and centering the needs of their school communities at every turn. For example, when they noticed that cafeteria-based distributions missed students who didn’t eat lunch at school, they experimented with alternative timing and locations, like nutrition breaks and hallway “hot spots” in order to reach more peers. 

🌱 What’s Next

This pilot is one step in a longer journey. Our Student Organizers are continuing to analyze what they learned, connect with community partners like Cascadia Produce, and shape a vision for what food access in high schools could look like when students lead the way.

At FEEST, we believe that all young people should have access to fresh, free food. And thanks to our students, we’re one step closer to making that vision our reality.

🙏 Special Thanks

This pilot wouldn’t have been possible without the collaboration and care of so many folks in our school communities and beyond. Deep gratitude to:

• Cascadia Produce
• The Kitchen Manager at Chief Sealth
• The Kitchen Manager at Rainier Beach
• The Principal at Chief Sealth
• The Family Support Worker at Rainier Beach
• The Interim Strategic Advisor at OSE
• The Food Policy & Programs Strategic Advisor at OSE

The Farm to School Specialist at Seattle Public Schools
Your support reminds us that when we nourish students with care, we’re also feeding the future they’re creating: one rooted in justice, dignity, and joy.