Seattle soda tax fuels $1.75 million in grant funding for 18 food equity projects

The Seattle Department of Neighborhoods is distributing $1.75 million in soda tax-fueled grant funding to 18 community-led food equity projects.

The food equity projects are receiving shares of the awarded Food Equity Fund grants, ranging from $85,260 to $100,000. Eight of the projects received the maximum $100,000 award. The projects focus on food equity, urban gardening, senior and youth food justice programs, and food distribution sites.

Seattle Department of Neighborhoods received 98 eligible applications totaling $9.2 million in funding requests for the 2025 Food Equity Fund. The grant review process included community leaders.

“With a focus on reaching communities most impacted by health inequities, these grassroots efforts ensure that every neighbor in our city has the nourishment they need to be healthy and thrive,” Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said in a statement.

The eight programs receiving $100,000 include ALA Garifuna and Amigos de Seattle, which will provide culturally relevant food distributions to around 100 households.

Black Dollar Days Task Force/Clean Greens Farm and Market and FamilyWorks were each granted $100,000 to distribute “culturally relevant” food boxes to low-income African American families and expand North Seattle’s community-based food access programs.

Feed Seven Generations and Kin ON Health Care Center each received $100,000 to support Native American-led food sovereignty initiatives and bilingual nutrition programs for Asian senior citizens.

Lake City Collective and the Indigenous Creatives Collective are each being awarded $100,000 to bolster intergenerational gardening, youth leadership, and Indigenous land restoration through cultural programming.

The $1.75 million in grant funding comes from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods’ Food Equity Fund General Grant, which is provided by revenue from the Sweetened Beverage Tax.

The tax was implemented in 2018 with the primary goal of reducing the sales and consumption of sugary drinks within Seattle. Revenue raised by the tax also goes toward programs intended to increase access to healthy food, as well as programs supporting child health and early learning.