Northwest Harvest Kicked off Holiday Season with Turkey Donation Delivery to El Centro de La Raza's Hot Meal Program

In preparation for the Thanksgiving holiday, Foster Farms donated 750 turkeys (or 13,500 pounds of turkey which will feed up to 14,000) to the Northwest Harvest Food Bank. Northwest Harvest conducted its first distribution of these turkeys to one of its partner agencies, El Centro de la Raza on Monday, November 10 at 11:30 a.m., during its “La Cocina Popular,” a daily hot meal program.

This continues Foster Farms’ tradition of Thanksgiving turkey donations to West Coast food banks to address the growing issue of food insecurity. Northwest Harvest was one of six West Coast food banks to receive Foster Farms turkey donations this Thanksgiving that will be distributed to local communities and families in California, Oregon and Washington. Collectively, Foster Farms is donating more than 4,500 turkeys – or 81,000 pounds of turkey – to help feed families in need this Thanksgiving. Through its Pass the Plate program, in partnership with local food banks, the company also provided hundreds of local families with complete chicken dinners each week throughout the summer.

Through advocacy and programming, El Centro de la Raza works to empower Seattle’s Latino community and raise awareness of the issues facing Latinos in Seattle and America at large. El Centro’s “La Cocina Popular” addresses the issues of hunger and poor nutrition among homeless and other low-income communities, including students. Through this program, El Centro provides free, nutritious, hot lunches to individuals and families.

According to the USDA, Washington ranks as the 22nd most food insecure state in the country. Northwest Harvest reports food donations have been low this year and the food bank is confident that the Foster Farms donation will help encourage others to join in providing for families-in-need this holiday season.

Shelley Rotondo, CEO of Northwest Harvest, was on-site to receive the donations and spoke about food insecurity in Washington and the need for food donations this holiday season.

Northwest Harvest is the only nonprofit food bank distributor operating statewide in Washington, providing more than 2 million meals each month to a network of more than 370 food banks, meal programs and high-need schools.