The SeaTac-Tukwila Food Innovation Network is a broad-based collective impact initiative that now includes the City of SeaTac, the City of Tukwila, Pinchot University, CIE, Global to Local, Healthy Community Planning, LLC, Swedish Medical Services, HealthPoint, Lifelong’s Chicken Soup Brigade, Forterra, Project Feast, Ventures, Highline College’s StartZone program, Lutheran Community Services, the YMCA and others.

CIE continues to play a pivotal role in the direction and activities of the Network. The Network recently received a substantial grant ($750,000 over five years) from King County’s Community of Opportunity program administered by the Seattle Foundation for capacity building support. With CoO funding, the Network hired a full-time project manager, engaged South King County communities in surveys and focus groups, and used stipends to integrate community members into roles on the Network’s steering committee and various working groups. Among many other accomplishments, the Network completed an asset map, a gap analysis, a community survey and community focus groups, which together has culminated in a feasibility study for a facility that will house a distribution hub for aggregating local produce, a commercial kitchen for training, incubating and supporting a variety of new, small-scale, healthy food enterprises, and classrooms and office space for participating community-based economic and business development programs.