- [Tyra] When students get here, you think about like, did the student get enough rest?

Did they get enough sleep?

Did they eat like, did they have breakfast?

Food and sleep and rest, and like, these are just basic things that we need, greatly impact, our ability to focus on learning, to focus on thinking critically, to focus on engaging, and with our students and our families.

Everyone doesn't have access to those things in the same way.

Really what happened was, it was like May, I think like, they're like, school's closing, pandemic.

Like Corona virus, go home, nobody come to school tomorrow.

A lot of our families have like free and reduced lunch at our school.

School was canceled, there wasn't a plan for how students are going to have lunch tomorrow.

We know so many of our students rely on school lunch.

So we're like, okay, we gotta do something.

Right now, there's different people in our community who have lost jobs with the pandemic.

Like we have a diverse background of families that we work with, and the, the need is just them being able to have like, fresh food, hot food.

"Feed The Beach" is a program that started in a quick response to the pandemic happening and us wanting to make sure that our students are fed.

We have a lot of families that have a lot of kids, and there's some single parents, parents who are juggling working from home, and homeschooling their kids.

Bellies are getting a hot meal, and that's one thing we can kind of like remove from their plate so they can juggle the other things that come with this change of lifestyle.

If someone brings me a hot meal, I'm like, what thank you.

Like it feels good.

And so I think it definitely helps people just, there's like a certain pride or a certain joy that you have when someone thinks about you in that way.

- [Tyra] All the hot meals we provide are from local BiPAP restaurants.

Super six was the first partner that we had.

- [Kamala] When you have insecurities, no matter if they're food insecurity, insecurities, or housing insecurities, you can see that all over their face, and how they carry themselves.

You know, we've seen it even in our own backyard, meaning in our kitchen, in our staff here, we have people who their family member have had, they've lost a job.

I think in times of uncertainty and certainty.

if there is a sense of comfort, I think breaking bread with people, we do it.

And, whether it's a business meeting, there's something that it feels different when you have food on a table or food in front of you, or you're able to share food.

Who breaks down all kinds of barriers, and it's a natural comfort.

- [Tyra] It just creates an environment where we can really connect and talk and get to know each other.

And I think that in that coming together, it fosters a dynamic environment where we can actually think critically together and like figure out how do we want to change in our community?

We want our community to live, We want them to grow, We want them to thrive, We want them to be healthy, and food is something that plays a role in that.

And I think that food is connected to social justice, because, like, if you look at the types of food we eat, all these things are linked to different health disparities.

- Man, this is good stuff today!

Yes!

- [Tyra] In are community, there's different sicknesses, chronic illnesses and chronic diseases, whether that's diabetes or high blood pressure, we want to make sure that families have access to food that's healthy, that can promote health, overall health, like helping your bodies, helping your mind.

And even just the pride in being able to eat some good food that not only tastes good, but it's healthy for you as well.

To have something that's hot, something that's prepared for you, something that's brought to you.

It just shows that someone's being intentional about supporting you.

Rainier Beach is a place, a community where it's full of culture.

It's full of history.

You're gonna find people of all different backgrounds.

Food has a way of bringing people together.

Like no matter what language you speak, no matter what background you're from, We deserve the best, and we don't have to settle.

- [Kamala] I think it, it's important to while, this is a time of uncertainty, both for those in the restaurant industry.

But also if you look around at south Seattle, in our community, it's the community in which I full-heartedly live in.

And haven't been invested in.

You look around, people are hungry.

This is not a time to sit out, it's a time to get as close to the community, as you can an, to have a positive impact where you can, but it's not a time to sit out.