Community
29
2026
Emergency Food Network: 2025 Network Funding Spotlight
Guiding Focus of Network
The guiding focus of EFN is that everyone in Pierce County should have access to diverse and nutritious food when and where they need it. Our network is made up of more than 75 food pantries, meal sites, and shelters across the county. In 2025, EFN provided our partners with 18.3 million pounds of food and supported them in serving more than 3.5 million food pantry visits. Food insecurity is unfortunately a growing problem in the community. Our network served nearly three times as many visitors in 2025 than they did before the pandemic. Each month, EFN provides our partners with more than one million pounds of food. Additionally, we provide our partners with pass-through government funding and best-practice guidance to comply with regulations set by the Washington State Department of Agriculture. At the heart of our work is the belief that food is a human right. Every program in our network agrees to serve everyone who needs support regardless of factors including, but not limited to, race, religion, citizenship status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, income, and disability status. We also believe that people deserve food that reflects their values and needs. Different families will need different foods based on their cultural background, ability to store and cook foods, ages of the members of their household, and dietary restrictions. By focusing on diverse and nutritious foods, we can ensure that anyone who visits our network can find food that is appropriate for their needs.
How Network Was Formed
EFN was established back in 1982 by some of the very food pantries and meal sites that we continue to work with today. At that time, there was more need for food assistance due to a recession and local food agencies recognized a need for a program that could collect food in quantities that individual food pantries would not be able to manage. This spirit of collecting food in bulk for distribution across a network of programs across the county continues to be EFN’s daily work. Our network focuses on the collective impact of agencies working towards a common vision and the shared belief that everyone deserves beautiful and nutritious food.
Shared Success That Have Emerged From This Network
In 2025, our network distributed more than 70 million pounds of food to neighbors across the county – that’s equivalent to more than 56 million meals! Since our establishment in 1982, our network has grown from four programs mostly located in Tacoma to more than 75 food pantries across the entire county. We have seen programs change the dynamic of a neighborhood for the better by bringing important services to isolated communities and we have extended our reach so that we can reach neighbors even in the most far-reaching parts of the county.
1-2 Big Goals Your Network is Hoping to Achieve in 2026
Increasing nutritious food distribution and access to food pantries are some of our main priorities for 2026. The 18.2 million pounds of food we distributed in 2025 was an increase of 4.5 million pounds from 2024, but we know our neighbors need more. As visits to food pantries continue to grow due to rising costs of living and cuts to SNAP and other benefits, we know that food pantries across the county need more food to meet the need. We are also always striving to make the emergency food system as accessible as possible to our neighbors in need. Many families are now turning to food pantries for the first time. It is important that families know where food pantries are across county and what they can expect from visiting a food pantry. We also work with our network to fill gaps in the system. Our network extends far across the county and our partners use system models like grocery models where guests choose their own food, mobile and locker models, home delivery, and evening and weekend hours. By maintaining a broad and diverse network, our goal is that any family visiting our network will find a program that suits their unique situation and needs.
Advice For Others Looking to Leverage Networks to Help Build a Thriving Community
Tips for Navigating Challenges
We encourage networks to approach their work from an abundance mindset. It can be tempting to view resources as a zero-sum game, but by working together and sharing knowledge and resources we can lift each other up so that we can work more effectively towards shared goals.
How to Build Shared Goals
Focus on commonality and alignment and spend less time focusing on differences between agencies and approaches. Within your network, you may find that different agencies or groups are naturally more specialized in one facet of work than another. Some of our partners are focused on a more traditional grocery style model of service while others utilize mobile or delivery programs. Different families will find that different service models are a better fit for their needs, and the service model that works for them one week may not work the next. It wouldn’t make sense for us to try to get every food pantry in our network to adopt the same service model, but we can all unite over a common belief that everyone deserves to eat and that our work is to make that a reality.