Rainier Valley Rising: Celebrating Our Grand Opening
On Sunday September 7th, 2025, neighbors and community members gathered to celebrate the Grand Opening of our new community food hub. It was truly a day to remember as the renewed space filled with excitement, music, and the buzz of connection. This is a dream that's been realized after more than ten years in the making, and we've finally arrived!
Our adventure maps guided everyone through the different stations throughout our new community food hub, starting at the community garden where guests painted wooden stakes and could chat with RVFB Executive Director, Gloria Hatcher-Mays, to learn more about the garden’s purpose. From there, the next stop on the map was the new Commercial Kitchen where people could take a look and speak with our Director of Operations, Karey Fey, guests also were able to share their ideas for the space. Next to the kitchen our Outreach Coordinator, Zara Teger, greeted guests at our Community Connector offices and invited them to play a game, matching resources to our partnered service provides. Past this station was the grocery store with an opportunity to learn about our food service programs. As everyone exited the grocery store, they found the warehouse where the annual bag packing race was held. The final stop on this scavenger hunt was the Grocery Rescue van where Eunice Antoine, our Warehouse Coordinator, spoke with guests about this program.
Our emcee, Sasha Summer Cousineau, joined us for her fourth year in a row, welcoming everyone. We shared a delicious array of food including some of our staff and community members favorite local restaurants including Umami Kushi, Lil Red’s, Salima Specialties, Creamy Cone, and King Donuts. Jude’s Old Town joined us again this year to highlight their new mocktail bar, Rosette's, working out of our kitchen walk-up window to serve tasty mocktails. Near the front of our building, the Double Dutch Divas hosted a variety of activities, providing everyone a chance to jump with joy.
Our program kicked off with the Mak Fai Kung Fu Lion Dance Club. Three vibrant lions and live drumming brought good luck and smiles to our community. The Seattle All-City Band followed, filling the space with music that energized the celebration. Sasha embodied the energy and joy of finally being in community in our new space. Then our Executive Director, Gloria Hatcher-Mays spoke about what the new space means to us, “This new building is a symbol of patience, persistence, and dedication, and it’s my absolute joy and delight to share this new home with you all.”
Seattle Mayor, Bruce Harrell, also spoke about food insecurity in Seattle and the need to prioritize food access. Following this, the past 2 winners of the annual bag packing competition, Mika Yamamoto, former board member, and Geoff Anderson, facility’s lead architect of Schemata Workshop, joined Sasha on stage to announce and crown the 2025 winner, Wyatt, with a sash. Wyatt is 15 years old and has been volunteering with us since he was little. His winning time was just under 8.5 seconds!
This year, we recognize special members of our community with the Ed Parks Award. Joe McKinstry, Lee Stanton, Jennifer Worth, and Mika Yamamoto, affectionately known as “the A Team” were instrumental in finding the space where our new facility has taken root, and bringing this project to completion. We held space for lots of gratitude throughout the program, Gloria gave flowers to Capital Campaign Committee Co-Chairs, Calandra Childers and Jennifer Worth who have supported us and guided us through this project.
The Rainier Beach High School Cheer Squad performed two routines closed program with a bang! Thank you to everyone who joined us for this very special day. This milestone is more than a new building; it’s also about the community that made it possible. We’re beyond excited to open our doors to the new community food hub where everyone will have access to nourishing food and community resources, support, and care.
