About – Feed Spokane

Our Mission

Safely rescuing quality food to feed Spokane’s hungry by nurturing sustainable community networks and charitable partnerships while eliminating food waste.

How we get the food

Every day, we get updates from local restaurants, caterers, hotels, grocers, wholesalers, farmers, and event centers letting us know they have food that needs to be rescued. Either the same day or the next day, our dedicated volunteers drive routes around Spokane in our refrigerated vans to pick up food that would otherwise be wasted.

Become a Food Donor

We rescue & redistribute good food

Restaurants, caterers, hotels, grocers, wholesalers, farmers, and event centers donate leftover food that would otherwise be discarded to Feed Spokane. The food comes to Feed Spokane in food-safe containers. Volunteers then organize and redistribute the food to any of over forty food banks and charitable meal sites in our community that serve free meals to the food insecure in Spokane.

Apply To Become a Food Provider

Good food moves fast

Each week, our team of dedicated volunteers redistributes an average of 35,000 lbs of food. Our current facility only has a capacity of 18,000 lbs – so we have to keep it moving!

Become a Volunteer

Our volunteers make it happen

Feed Spokane is a food rescue agency and we distribute the food we rescue to food banks and pantries that are, charitable non-profit organizations that share that food and serve meals to those in need. We currently have about 30 dedicated volunteers who help us rescue, sort, and redistribute an average of 27,500 lbs of food every week.

Join our dedicated team of Volunteers

Who we help

According to the Feed America Project, in 2018 there were roughly 65,000 food insecure people in Spokane County. This represented a 13 percent food insecurity rate. This rate has certainly risen since 2020 because of the increased poverty and unemployment due to the pandemic.

Our Impact

How Feed Spokane got started

In 2005 Feed Spokane started as a conversation between meal site directors, SNAP, and concerned citizens with a purpose of figuring out how to increase the quality and quantity of food for service to the homeless and food insecure in the Spokane area. Inspired by Portland OR, Fork it Over operation, willing test participant restaurants, including Arby’s, and Old Spaghetti Factory began the effort to rescue excess prepared food from local restaurants and safely distribute it to area free meal sites. In 2007 a board was formed and Feed Spokane became an official Non-Profit 501c3, thanks to a generous cash donation from the WRA to pay for filing fees.

Communication and collaboration are at the heart of Feed Spokane. Coalition partnership meetings are held for representatives to share their mission, their challenges, their successes and their lessons learned. Increasing food safety awareness and processes is a huge component of what we do. Promoting awareness to the Spokane region of the issue of hunger and its effects on our community has enabled many sites to survive through the economic challenges of the past few years. It has also made many restaurant operators aware of the cost of waste in their kitchens and enabled them to implement better business practices.

Leadership

Board Members

Employees

Chrystal Ortega,
Executive Director

Join us – apply today

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Yes! The Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD) has supported this program from its inception. Spokane County’s chief health officer, Dr. Kim Marie Thorburn, is quoted on our literature as saying, “We are an enthusiastic partner in this important program that is creating a healthier community by reducing hunger and waste. We are committed to assuring that donated food is safe and practical for everyone.” Ray Byrne, SRHD’s Food Program Technical Advisor, attends every planning meeting for the program.

Our goal is to not only feed the hungry, but to feed them good, nutritious and safe food. For more information, contact the SRHD at (509) 324-1560, ext. 2.

No. The federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act states that donors “shall not be subject to civil or criminal liability arising from the nature, age, packaging, or condition of apparently wholesome food or an apparently fit grocery product that the person or gleaner donates in good faith to a nonprofit organization for ultimate distribution to needy individuals.” This bi-partison legislation:

Protects donors from liability when donating to a non-profit organization;
Protects donors from civil and criminal liability should the product donated in good faith later cause harm to the needy recipient;
Standardizes donor liability exposure. Donors and their legal counsel no longer have to investigate liability laws in 50 states;
Sets a liability floor of “gross negligence” or intentional misconduct for persons who donate grocery products;
Congress recognized that the provision of food close to recommended date of sale is, in and of itself, not grounds for finding gross negligence. For example, cereal can be donated if it is marked close to code date for retail sale.

For more information, contact the SRHD at (509) 324-1560, ext. 2.

No. Instead of throwing edible food in the garbage, your kitchen staff simply puts it in corner of your cooler, in equipment that we provide. Then our driver comes and picks up the food at your convenience. You can schedule a regular pick-up or simply call when you have something to donate. You only deal with one person; your food is then distributed to every free meal site in Spokane. Your kitchen staff already knows how to properly handle foods, so there is no extra training. We have also found that donating good food to the hungry improves staff morale and makes them proud of their job at your company.

You shouldn’t. If you are already giving away all your edible food to the hungry, don’t change. Our goal is to work with all the food organizations in our local area to increase the overall amount of food available to the hungry in our community. Thank you for being a part of the solution!

You can help

We know that we’re only rescuing 10% of the food that is being thrown away in Spokane. Feed Spokane relies on our team of dedicated volunteers, recurring donors, and grants to keep the food safe, lights on, and fuel in our refrigerated vans. Even if you aren’t able to share your time or resources with us, you can help us spread the word!