Coastal Harvest, an independent Washington-based food bank, has rapidly grown an initiative to distribute culturally specific food to Mexican and indigenous Central American communities. The scheme started in February, initially designed to support a single nonprofit serving Latinos and indigenous people in the South Puget Sound region, but quickly expanded due to growing demand. The program proudly scaled from 25 to 600 boxes per month in just three months.

Executive Director, Brent Hunter, reported an increasing number of orders for these specialty boxes filled with about 13 pounds of culturally familiar Latino food. This initiative represents one of the many growing efforts among food banks to provide for Black, Latino, Native American and Pacific Islander communities, traditionally underserved by the charitable food system. These groups experience food insecurity at two to three times the rate of white individuals, as indicated by Feeding America.

This push toward greater equity in food distribution gained momentum during the pandemic. Food Bank of the Rockies is now distributing over a million pounds of culturally relevant food across its 53-county operating area. Second Harvest Heartland is investing over $13 million in various equity initiatives, including the procurement of culturally specific food and purchasing from BIPOC businesses.

Coastal Harvest started its initiative following a request by local nonprofit CIELO. “‌”), who needed emergency food supplies for an influx of migrant workers. Brent Hunter began sourcing specialty food items from local minority-owned businesses and expanded the Coastal Harvest-CIELO program to 150 boxes monthly. The boxes are now distributed to over 50 locations across seven counties, with a specific section of the distribution center dedicated solely to Latino foods.

Each food box may contain items like corn flour, tortillas, dried peppers, beans, rice, canned meats, fresh produce, pasta, peanut butter, and more. Hunter plans to include more culturally familiar items, such as Mexican and Central American dairy products. Each month, volunteers from CIELO. “‌”) and a local Dutch Brothers coffee location come together to fill the boxes.

The demand for these boxes continues to grow, with inquiries coming in from food programs outside Coastal Harvest‘s area. Hunter also mentioned potential donors for the program, expressing his gratitude for being able to serve this often overlooked community.