The Emergency Food Network (EFN) has been working since 1982 "to provide a reliable food supply so that no person in Pierce County goes hungry." Each month in Pierce County, more than 140,000 people seek emergency food assistance. EFN provides food and other essentials at no cost to over 65 food banks, hot meal sites and shelters for distribution to low-income families and individuals.

The Emergency Food Network is comprised of our Distribution Center in Lakewood and our 8-acre organic Mother Earth Farm in Orting. EFN partners with Northwest Harvest’s cannery operation in Kent and with the Korean Women’s Association to run an Orchard in Roy. Through these operations EFN distributed more than $15.7 million worth of food and other essentials in 2008. The Cannery produced 20,000 cans of produce and the Mother Earth Farm harvested more than 149,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Emergency Food Network operates with a staff of ten full-time and one part-time employees. It is joined in its work by a dedicated corps of 1,700 volunteers who gave more than 15,000 hours to the organization last year. Due to a low administrative and fundraising overhead of under 4% EFN is able to distribute approximately $12 dollars worth of food to local feeding programs for every dollar donated.

These innovative efforts combine to make the Emergency Food Network the only non-profit emergency food distribution center in the country able to take food straight from the ground to the tables of those in need.

Please join us in the fight against hunger.