Seattle Good Business Network

Good Food Economy: Initiatives to connect and strengthen the local food pipeline to build a resilient, sustainable, and just local food economy. Programming includes Good Food Forum, an online community of regional food businesses and organizations; Good Food Kitchens, food assistance, economic development, and local food resilience program serving King County that provides funds directly to restaurants and caterers to prepare meals for the food insecure, helping to keep their doors open and workers employed safely, while purchasing from local farms and producers, creating long-term local supply chain relationship; and Seattle Restaurant Week, a biannual event that connects connect thousands of residents with hundreds of locally owned restaurants to enjoy seasonal, locally sourced menus. The events educate residents about local farms and producers and the importance of a strong local food economy, and contributing millions of dollars to our local economy. They strengthen our community by creating real connections between and among residents and our small locally-owned businesses and between local farms and local restaurants. In 2022, this program reached 1,300 people, plus 47,314 meals served through Good Food Kitchens.

Youth Program: Youth Workforce Development connects under-resourced youth to meaningful career and leadership opportunities, including internships, job shadowing, and mentorship opportunities. In 2022, this program served 29 people.

Seattle Restored reinvigorates our city by activating vacant storefronts and windows in Seattle's neighborhoods with pop-up shops and art installations from local entrepreneurs, artists, and makers. These projects benefit neighborhoods, small businesses, artists, and property owners and encourage the public to visit downtown Seattle, and support local businesses and artists, particularly Black, Indigenous, and other entrepreneurs and artists of color. In 2022, this program served 150 people.

Seattle Made: A collaboration of over 700 local producers and manufacturers working together to provide a more diverse base of living wage jobs, a more fertile landscape for entrepreneurs, and opportunities to reduce the environmental impact of production and distribution while building the region's long-term resiliency and celebrating Seattle's unique cultural identity. This includes direct and indirect promotion of awareness and understanding through the Seattle area. Seattle Made programming has expanded to include Northwest Sewn, an initiative to support and connect the local sewn-trades industry, with an emphasis on connecting low-income sewing professionals to Seattle Made businesses in need of small-batch production and a pilot apprenticeship program for industrial sewing machine operators. In 2022, this program served 750 people.

Sustainability Program: Our sustainability program provides free resources and technical assistance to businesses to green their facilities and/or practices. The program additionally supports circular economy initiatives that help to find productive uses for materials otherwise destined for landfills. In 2022, this program served 817 people.

Community Engagement: Community and educational events, convening leaders within specific local economy sectors, speaking engagements, and sharing of local economy stories and opportunities through online/email/social media. Efforts include regular convening of grassroots economic development leaders to share best practices and collaborate on initiatives designed to increase economic opportunity and stem displacement.