Sustainable Renton
Food Justice Program

The Problem

In King County it is estimated that over 243,000 people are food insecure. They don't have access to enough food or food of sufficient quality and nutrition to meet their basic needs. With the price of food rising that number is growing and our local food banks and service nonprofits are struggling to keep up.

At the same time, food waste makes up a significant amount of our municipal garbage. We produce over 150,000 tons of food waste in King County annually, of which an estimated 100,000 tons was perfectly edible. Good food is thrown out, and when it ends up in the landfill it emits methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. King County's Cedar Hills Landfill is one of the top carbon emitting landfills in the nation.

The Solution

Sustainable Renton's Food Justice Program works by collecting good food that's being thrown out and getting it to the people who need it. We partner with a number of area grocery stores, community gardens, and food pantries to collect their surplus food, food that would be wasted due to miscalculating supply and demand. We then distribute that food through free neighborhood pantries, community centers, and service providers who cook free community meals.

Since beginning operations in 2020, we have successfully handed out over 2.6 million pounds of food!

Volunteering

We need your help! Volunteers are the heart that makes this program possible. It's volunteers who do the actual work of gathering, sorting, and distributing food. We need folks who can go out and pick up food from our partner grocery stores, pick fruit and berries from local farms, stock our network of free pantries, deliver food to our service partners, dry and can fresh produce, and so much more!

If you are interested in volunteering fill out the volunteer signup form below and check the Food Justice Program option!

Donations

While we are primarily focused on rescuing food from the landfill, there are a number of items harder to come by. If you'd like to donate something to our program here's a list of items in high demand!

Diapers (all sizes)
Feminine Hygiene Products
Non-perishable and unexpired good such as:
- Dried or Canned Beans
- Rice
- Cooking Oil
- Coffee, Tea, Milk
- Butter, Flour, Sugar
- Canned Meats (tuna, chicken, SPAM, etc...)