Join us in growing a healthy and sustainable community through shared meals 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.
With their close proximity to our site, the fruits and vegetables are in season, and the sourcing carbon footprint is low since it doesn’t travel far. The food used in the meals will include farm “seconds” — fruit and vegetables that were not physically appealing for the retail market — helping to keep them from the waste stream.
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. These events are planned with our community, inviting home cooks to share how their cultural food ways and recipes inherently prevent food waste like using the roots and leaves of vegetables, and preservation through multiple means.
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.
Food Waste Prevention Guides
Our Food Waste Prevention Guide was created through our Community Kitchens programming, and includes a range of tips and recipes to save more and waste 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.
Volunteer
Upcoming Events
