King County is expanding its Local Food Initiative to confront growing challenges across the region’s food system, including rising farmland costs, limited food distribution infrastructure, and the worsening impacts of climate change. The updated strategy seeks to strengthen access to nutritious food for all communities while supporting the farmers and food businesses that make it possible.
Launched in 2015, the Local Food Initiative has served as the county’s blueprint for improving access to farmland, supporting local food producers, and connecting residents to healthy, affordable food. In its first decade, the initiative helped launch a farmland access program for Black, immigrant, and refugee farmers, created a grant program to fund hunger relief organizations purchasing food from local farms, and established a business incubator to assist small food producers using locally grown ingredients.
Now, with new economic pressures and climate realities emerging, King County Executive Shannon Braddock said the county is ready to scale up its efforts.
“After a decade of progress, we’re enhancing the Local Food Initiative to meet the current needs of both farmers and the communities they support, so more families have access to nutritious, homegrown food,” said Braddock. “The strong community partnerships we’ve built over the last several years will help us create a more equitable and climate-resilient food system.”
The updated plan identifies 10 immediate actions, including:
• Expanding local food markets by investing in coordinators and programs that connect farmers, buyers, and food businesses
• Securing long-term funding for farm-to-community and food access programs through forward contracting and local procurement
• Making farmland more affordable and available by reducing costs, preserving land for farming, and incentivizing land sales to new farmers
• Supporting historically underserved farmers in adopting regenerative agriculture and climate-smart practices through training, funding, and peer learning
The King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks, in partnership with the King Conservation District, is leading the update, with guidance shaped around three central priorities: equity, climate resilience, and regional alignment.
The plan prioritizes the inclusion of voices often left out of food system decision-making. This includes farmers of color, food workers, and community organizations working directly with populations facing hunger and food insecurity. Officials say this approach will ensure the plan reflects the region’s diverse communities and challenges.
John Taylor, director of the Department of Natural Resources and Parks, emphasized the importance of building on past progress while deepening the commitment to climate and racial justice.
“The foundation that our employees and partners established during the first decade of the Local Food Initiative puts us in a position to achieve even more during the next 10 years,” Taylor said. “The updated plan has an even greater emphasis on racial justice and climate resiliency, both of which are needed to strengthen the local food economy.”
To sustain this collaborative approach, the county has established a new Food Systems Advisory Council composed of 20 diverse members from across the region’s food landscape. The council will guide both the development and implementation of the initiative to ensure long-term accountability and impact.
The revised strategy also aligns with King County’s Strategic Climate Action Plan and the City of Seattle’s Food Action Plan, creating a unified vision for a resilient and equitable food system across the region.
Investments in climate-smart practices are a core feature of the new plan. Recommended actions include rebuilding farm soil health with cover crops and crop rotations, planting vegetation that retains water and carbon, and reducing runoff. These practices are designed to increase agricultural resilience to drought and flooding while improving yields and ecosystem health.
The initiative also calls for investments in low-carbon, energy-efficient projects across the local food supply chain, from farms to processing centers to transportation hubs. These pilot projects aim to reduce emissions and enhance efficiency in how local food moves from farm to plate.
“Creating a more climate-resilient food system starts with supporting farmers, and that is what we will achieve with the updated Local Food Initiative,” said Marissa Aho, director of the King County Executive Climate Office. “This roadmap, developed with community partners, centers equity to increase local food access as a way to improve community resilience.”
Public input was a key driver of the update. More than 1,600 residents participated in surveys, listening sessions, focus groups, and interviews. Feedback consistently highlighted the importance of protecting farmland, supporting farmers and small food businesses, improving infrastructure, and embedding climate and equity in food policy decisions.