Join us in building a healthy and sustainable community through shared meals and events at Rainier Beach Urban Farm & Wetlands
For over a decade, Community Kitchen events have been an opportunity to share, learn and eat together in celebration of the abundance of food and food cultures in South Seattle. For each event, we invite members of the community to act as chef and teacher. We believe that there is much to learn from our multicultural, multigenerational neighbors and their traditional food ways.
At each event we highlight produce from local, small farms who use organic growing practices. We center our spending on BIPOC, immigrant and refugee farmers that reflect the same cultural heritages of the diverse community that we serve.
Our program models sustainable living practices through careful planning and consideration. We highlight in-season fruits and vegetables by sourcing them from local farms, including Rainier Beach Urban Farm & Wetlands. The food used in the meals includes farm “seconds” — fruit and vegetables that were not physically appealing for the retail market — helping to keep them from the waste stream.
These free events are planned with our community, inviting home cooks to share how their cultural food ways, recipes, and knowledge inherently prevent waste. Each event includes a combination of skill shares, a farm tour, take home recipes, food storage tips and conversation on how to cook and eat for a more sustainable food system.
In cooking and sharing food together, we value:
- Seasonality. We highlight what’s in season, starting with fruits and vegetables grown at Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetlands.
- Community. We welcome everyday cooks from the community who can share their wisdom and experience and authentically represent their food cultures.
- Creativity. We encourage flexibility, creativity, and cooking in ways that minimize food waste.
- Sustainability. We support local farms that use organic growing practices.
- Diversity. We celebrate food grown and cooked by BIPOC, immigrant, refugee, queer folks and people of all ages.
- Connection. We create space for communal eating and making neighborly connections.
- Sharing. We believe in open-source educational resources and recipes to continue the mission at home.
Past events include:
- Apple Medley Pop-up at Seattle Forest Week: Restoration Celebration
Food Waste Prevention Guides
Our Food Waste Prevention Guide was created through our Community Kitchens program and includes tips and recipes for saving more and wasting less of the food you bring home. It’s free, downloadable, and currently available in 9 languages.
This programming is made possible through generous funding from The Department of Ecology, Public Participation Grant.
Get Involved
- Sign up for our mailing list and attend an event.
- Sign up to volunteer on the day of the event to either help prep, cook, or clean up.
- Connect in order to talk about partnering as a guest chef.