Community
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Making A Difference Foundation – Community Reinvestment Project Spotlight
Making A Difference Foundation is one 30 By/For Black, Latine, and Indigenous Kin organizations in Pierce County recommended by the Pierce County Local Advisory Team to receive funding through the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Community Reinvestment Project.
GTCF contracted with Commerce to convene the Pierce County Local Advisory Team and deliver funding based on their recommendations. You can read more about this partnership here.
GTCF reached out to Making A Difference Foundation to learn more about their organization and how this Community Reinvestment Project funding is helping accelerate their work in Pierce County.
What inspired the creation of your organization/movement?
Making A Difference Foundation (MADF) was founded in 2003 with a mission to make a difference in the lives of others, one person at a time, by helping them acquire the most basic human needs: food, housing, encouragement, and opportunity.
Initially focused on scholarships and international humanitarian missions, MADF shifted its focus locally in response to growing needs in the Puget Sound region. In 2009, the organization launched Eloise’s Cooking Pot Food Bank, inspired by founder Ahndrea Blue’s grandmother, Eloise. Eloise was a woman of modest means but boundless generosity—always willing to provide a hot meal to anyone in need. That spirit of compassion lives on through the food bank that bears her name. The idea started humbly when Ms. Blue noticed some of her tenants—especially young children—were going without regular meals. The food bank began in an alleyway to give people experiencing food insecurity a place to access support discreetly. However, after a conversation with then-Tacoma City Councilmember (now U.S. Representative) Marilyn Strickland, Ms. Blue moved the food bank to a larger, more visible space. Strickland’s words stayed with her: “No one should have to sneak in to get food. They should be able to come in pride.”
What is a challenge – or opportunity – your organization/movement is addressing or trying to create solutions for?
Food insecurity is a persistent and growing issue in Pierce County. One in eight children (12%) experiences hunger, and many working families, seniors, and young adults struggle to access nutritious and culturally appropriate food. Making A Difference Foundation addresses this head-on by ensuring dignity, access, and equity in food distribution.
In addition to meeting immediate hunger needs, MADF aims to break generational cycles of poverty and instability through comprehensive services that include home delivery, education, baby supplies, and youth-focused programs.
What is an example of the actions, programs, or projects of your organization/movement?
Eloise’s Cooking Pot Food Bank now serves over 75,000 people each month, distributing approximately 1.5 million pounds of food across Pierce and King Counties. It is the largest and most diverse independently operated food bank in the region, with the most extensive home delivery network, which helps remove all barriers to food access for those most in need.
Besides the onsite food bank and delivery program, MADF also offers three mobile food banks, twenty-four mini food pantries, and free weekly grocery giveaway events at the Tacoma Dome. Beyond that, MADF’s vital initiative, Hope Over Hunger Children’s Program, is designed to ensure that children and youth have consistent access to fresh, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food.
All services are free and offered five days a week, alongside the regular operation of the food bank.
MADF’s commitment to equity and long-term impact is further demonstrated through innovative, community-centered programs that address the root causes of hunger and poverty. These programs include:
- Feeding Our Future Youth Program: This program supports at-risk youth ages 16 to 25 who have experienced violence or trauma. It provides mentorship, life skills development, and leadership training, with a special emphasis on food sovereignty and Black farming. Youth work alongside local BIPOC farmers to learn urban agriculture, grow culturally relevant foods, and receive technical assistance to launch their own microenterprise agriculture businesses.
- BIPOC Farm Fresh HUB: This emerging initiative offers a shared space and infrastructure—including cold storage, raised beds, composting systems, hydroponics, and irrigation tools—for 23 BIPOC farmers and ranchers. The HUB empowers farmers with access to land, education, and distribution channels to grow and supply fresh, locally grown produce to underserved communities. It also helps integrate culturally appropriate foods into MADF’s food programs while building a more equitable local food system.
- Rising Higher Workforce and Reintegration Program: Designed to support adults reentering society after incarceration or other barriers to employment, this program provides job training, career readiness, case management, and supportive services. Participants are placed in roles at MADF’s delivery center and warehouse so they can learn and grow careers in food distribution and warehouse logistics—helping them gain valuable skills, income, and confidence as they transition into long-term employment.
Together, these programs reflect MADF’s holistic approach to building food security, empowering youth, creating economic opportunities, and promoting community healing across the Puget Sound area.
How can funding – like what was delivered through the Community Reinvestment Project – help accelerate the work of Making A Difference Foundation?
Funding from the Community Reinvestment Project was vital in accelerating MADF’s ability to meet the growing demand for food and basic necessities. With traditional funding sources shifting, governmental safety nets being reallocated, and inflation driving up food costs, MADF is always in need of more funding to continue providing culturally relevant food, stocking the food bank and local school pantries, preparing backpack meals and home delivery boxes, and expanding services to community members in 2025.
Support from initiatives like the Community Reinvestment Project helps MADF deliver food with dignity, deepen outreach to vulnerable populations, and ensure that children, youth, and families across Pierce and King Counties not only have enough to eat—but also feel seen, supported, and valued.