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Northwest Harvest is a non-profit organization supporting food banks in Washington State. Northwest Harvest distributes food to a network of more than 370 food banks, meal programs, and high-need schools throughout Washington State.

History
In 1967 a group of Seattle community leaders formed The Ecumenical Metropolitan Ministry (EMM), an interfaith organization committed to identifying and addressing the primary problems of the poor and disadvantaged. Shortly after the formation of The EMM, Boeing's workforce dwindled from more than 100,000 employees to 32,500. By June 1971, unemployment in the Seattle area spiked from 2.9% to 13.1%.

Realizing that hunger was one of the most significant problems facing Seattle and beyond, The Ministry partnered with two other organizations to organize a food bank system, originally known as Neighbors in Need. In October 1970, they opened 34 food banks, originally conceived as "a short-term immediate response to the immediate crisis".

Even as the Seattle area recovered from its employment crisis, widespread need for food assistance remained. By early 1972, the network found itself serving 70,000 people per month. The Reagan administration's 1982 cuts to federal food stamp programs exacerbated this need, and led to further expansion of the food bank system.

In 1980, Northwest Harvest distributed just over 1 million pounds of food. By 2013 the amount of food distributed by Northwest Harvest increased to 32 million pounds.

Source of Food
Approximately 25% of the food distributed by Northwest Harvest is purchased staples (rice, beans, pasta, canned tomatoes, canned fruit, and various forms of protein); the rest comes from in-kind donations, mostly from businesses and institutions. The small percentage that comes from food drives "provides… variety… [and] helps break the monotony of the staple food items".

Distribution
A warehousing system allows Northwest Harvest to handle fresh foods, vegetables, and even meat. They operate their own distribution centers in Yakima, King County, and Stevens County; they partner with a distributor in Grays Harbor to serve Pacific, Lewis, and Wahkiakum counties, and with the Emergency Food Network of Tacoma to serve Pierce, Kitsap, and Thurston counties. These various organization often support one another with staff and transportation services and to combine their buying power.

Cherry Street Food Bank
Northwest Harvest's Cherry Street Food Bank in the First Hill Neighborhood of Seattle is the one of the busiest in Washington, providing nearly 1.5 million meals annually.