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Edmonds Food Bank outlines new facility plans, warns of funding pressures
Summary
Edmonds Food Bank told the Edmond City Council it served roughly 30,000 people last year, is planning a new facility with Edmonds Lutheran Church, and faces federal and state funding uncertainty while demand and volunteer contributions rise.
Casey Davis, executive director and CEO of Edmonds Food Bank, told the Edmond City Council on May 6 that the food bank served roughly 30,000 individuals last year and has seen rising weekly household counts in 2025.
Davis said the food bank served more than 1,400 households on multiple weeks since January and estimated the community need at about 2,500 households. “We are the second largest food bank in terms of service in the entire county,” she said, and the food bank and a partner serve “over 30% of all of Snohomish County's food insecure.”
Board chair Kathy Hair and Davis presented mock-ups for a proposed new facility under a memorandum of understanding with Edmonds Lutheran Church. The presentation described the planned building as more than a warehouse: it would include a commercial kitchen, meeting rooms, indoor waiting areas, space for children’s field trips, and an emergency operations capability.
Davis said the food bank provides a range of services beyond grocery distribution: SNAP enrollment at markets; home deliveries to more than 200 housebound seniors; volunteer-run meal programs; and partnerships with Edmonds College and local nonprofits for cooking classes and food-waste diversion. She said volunteers have an estimated monthly economic impact of about $60,000 and the organization used more than 1,000 unique volunteers in the past year.
Funding trends were a central theme. Davis said federal cuts reduced national funding for food assistance and that, in Washington state, about $18,000,000 of a national funding reduction affected the state — a change she said reduces about 15% of the food bank’s revenue. She also described state funding that has not yet cleared the governor’s desk, leaving the food bank uncertain about future support.
Council members asked about waste diversion, commercial-kitchen programming and senior delivery services. Council President Tibbitt and Council member Nann both highlighted the food bank’s role in diverting grocery-store waste and in serving seniors and working families who do not fit stereotypical images of food-bank clients.
During the public-comment period that followed later in the meeting, a representative of EdmondsCanDoBetter announced the group was closing and would donate remaining funds to the Edmonds Food Bank after the organization decided to wind up operations; the speaker said prior Public Disclosure Commission complaints against the group had been closed as unfounded.
The food bank’s leaders requested community donations (Give Big and other channels) and tours for council members and residents to better understand operations. They emphasized the project is at a planning stage: the MOU and mock-up designs are preliminary and fundraising remains necessary before any construction or lease commitments.
Details the council recorded: the food bank’s estimate of community need (about 2,500 households), weekly service spikes (more than 1,400 households on some recent weeks), volunteer metrics (about 300 volunteers served monthly, 1,000 unique volunteers in the last year), and delivery to 200+ housebound seniors. The council did not make a formal funding commitment at the May 6 meeting; council members asked staff to remain informed as the food bank’s capital planning progresses.
