Elk Run Farm

Elk Run Farm grows fresh fruits and vegetables for the South King County Food Coalition, a nonprofit network of the twelve food banks in our region. We believe that residents of South King County should have equal access to local, sustainably grown and nutritious produce regardless of income. Elk Run Farm’s vision is to provide year-round produce for our member food banks that is diverse, nutritious, and familiar to food bank clients. Our dream is for food bank clients/customers to have the same access to abundance usually reserved for a local farmers market.

Elk Run Farm is a partnership between the South King County Food Coalition, Seattle-King County Public Health, Rotary First Harvest, WSU Extension, Highline College, Tahoma High School and many others that addresses inequitable access to healthy foods for low-income families while promoting sustainable urban agriculture and new markets for local produce. Produce grown at Elk Run Farm, a former golf course, is distributed through South King County food banks to those in the community who can least afford it and live in areas where access to healthy food is limited.

Besides growing good food, Elk Run Farm partners with local schools in Maple Valley, Kent, Auburn, etc. The farm strives to directly address barriers to education, health, and success in the local youth community through onsite programming. By developing a farm that brings underutilized land into production and engages youth in agriculture, Elk Run Farm will increase access to healthy food among limited-income communities.

Elk Run Farm is an opportunity to demonstrate how land can be repurposed in the middle of modern developments, promoting environmental sustainability and the local food systems. Whether it is increasing access to healthy foods to low-income families, educating volunteers and food bank clients to become new consumers, providing job skills, marketing and entrepreneurship skills to students, or by connecting food banks with farmers selling highly nutritious foods, Elk Run Farm is empowering the community to make healthy choices on all levels.