The Food Innovation Network (FIN), a vital program of Global to Local, is dedicated to nurturing the entrepreneurial dreams of our community members in South King County. Our incubator program provides affordable commercial kitchen and retail kiosk space, connects entrepreneurs to market channels, and helps them build the necessary skills and experience to grow stable, successful businesses. Beyond that, our food access work spans the entire community food system, from farm to fork, creating opportunities for community members to engage and increase ownership in the local food system.
Over the past year and a half, we’ve faced significant challenges. Leadership transitions and a decrease in funding throughout the nonprofit sector after the pandemic have made it difficult to maintain our momentum. Yet, our mission remains steadfast: to help generations of immigrants build self-sufficiency to support themselves and their families.
To continue our work, we need your support. It takes over $500,000 annually to operate the Spice Bridge Food Hall, covering maintenance, staff, support for entrepreneurs, and kitchen equipment. Your contributions to our Go Fund Me campaign will help us build a solid foundation to restructure, restrategize, and create a more sustainable program for the future.
Please join us in making a difference. Your monetary donations, spreading the word, or even visiting Spice Bridge can help us continue to support our community. Together, we can ensure that FIN remains a beacon of hope and opportunity for years to come.
We are immensely grateful to each of you – our partners, community members, and dedicated employees – for your unwavering support during the recent months of transition, uncertainty, and as we’ve reached out for support. It’s been quite a rollercoaster ride but your unwavering belief in Global to Local’s work around food access and health equity has been the driving force for our resilience and determination to get back on course.
Through this journey, we’ve been intentional about viewing setbacks as invaluable learning opportunities. These experiences have allowed us to identify areas of weakness and realign our organization’s focus. While there is still much work to be done, we are optimistic that our immediate actions will pave the way for a brighter future.
In response to the challenges we’ve faced, we’ve taken decisive action. We’ve reignited our efforts in grant writing, ensuring that our vital programs receive the support they need to thrive. Additionally, we’ve enlisted the expertise of a finance agency to strengthen our financial foundation, laying the groundwork for a sustainable future.
As we move forward, we are ready to transition from a state of alarm and reactiveness. Instead, we are opening ourselves up to stronger relationships and new aligned partnerships that will help us grow as an organization, ensuring our continued ability to serve the SeaTac, Tukwila and South King County communities.
Looking Ahead, Capacity Building and Board Development
We’re filled with optimism and renewed purpose. While there are still challenges ahead, we take comfort in the signs of hope that surround us. Our new leadership team and incredible staff have been tirelessly pursuing opportunities to propel us forward, and we’re excited to explore new partnerships and collaborations that will shape the future of Global to Local.
Our goal moving forward is to diversify our funding channels to create a more balanced and sustainable sourcing for our impactful programs. This will help ensure the longevity of our mission. We are now in a place of re-envisioning our path forward, focusing on replenishing our strategic framework and capacity building.
Additionally, we are excited to welcome new board members who are dedicated to supporting immigrant and refugee communities. We seek individuals who are well-connected in areas of food access, food justice, health equity, diversity, and fundraising. Our Treasurer position is open and we welcome those with a finance background to explore this opportunity as well. We invite those interested in contributing their skills, connections, and relationships to join us in this endeavor. Please email me directly at sandra@globaltolocal.org if you’re interested in joining our board as we create a new, exciting future together for Global to Local and for our community in the South King County area.
Join Us at Our Upcoming Art Night on Friday, May 3
Where: Spice Bridge – 14200 Tukwila International Blvd Suite 141, Tukwila, WA 98168
When: Visit our Facebook page for more information the week prior to the event
Funds directly support Spice Bridge operating costs that ensure BIPOC and immigrant owned businesses can become stable businesses and feed our community. Your support helps BIPOC and immigrant chefs thrive today and tomorrow! Click here to donate.
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being an essential part of our community and for your steadfast commitment to our mission. We’re incredibly grateful for your support and partnership as we navigate this journey together.
It’s been a time of significant change and growth at our organization and we are thrilled to share some exciting updates with you.
Staff Restructure for a Brighter Future:
Over the past few months, our team has been hard at work restructuring to better support our day-to-day operations, meet program needs, and plan for an even brighter future. We are committed to ensuring that Global To Local remains a beacon of support and empowerment in our community.
Celebrating New Promotions:
In the spirit of growth and progress, we are delighted to announce three well-deserved promotions within our team:
1. Faizah Shukru – Food Access Manager:
Faizah has been promoted to the role of Food Access Manager. Her dedication to our food access work has been outstanding, and we look forward to seeing her bring new energy and ideas to this vital role. Faizah’s dedication to our food access work is evident to anyone who has worked with her. Her expanded role now encompasses partnership and food access development, leading grant reporting, along with finding innovative ways to incorporate food access efforts into the FIN program through our network of market vendors, local food organizations, and other food access resources.
2. Thao Pham – Interim Director of Operations:
We are excited to welcome Thao Pham into the role of Interim Director of Operations. Thao’s leadership skills and commitment to our mission make him an excellent addition to our leadership team. Thao will be overseeing essential operational tasks to keep our organization running at its best. This includes assisting with program supervision, monitoring operations and budgets, overseeing daily activity programs, and analyzing performance metrics to provide both individual and team evaluations.
3. Jill Kong – Interim Director of Development:
Join us in congratulating Jill Kong on her promotion to Interim Director of Development. Jill’s experience as a community organizer and her passion for our mission will undoubtedly contribute to the success of our development strategies. In this capacity, Jill will be spearheading our development and fundraising strategies, overseeing Global To Local’s grant contracts, and acting as the primary point of contact for our grant writing efforts.
Thank You to Our Partners
We want to express our gratitude to our partners who have stood by us during this time of transition. Your support enables us to continue providing essential services to our community in South King County.
As we move forward, we are excited about the possibilities that lie ahead. Our commitment to making a positive impact in the community remains steadfast, and with our newly structured team, we are confident in our ability to serve you better.
Thank you for your ongoing support, trust, and commitment to Global To Local. Together, we can build a stronger and more resilient community.
Seeking a Strategic Partner
We are actively seeking a strategic partner, an organization whose mission resonates with ours, and one that is ready to assume a leadership role as our primary sponsor. In our vibrant city full of innovative businesses, leaders, and foundations, our leadership team and interim Executive Director, Sandra Largaespada (sandra@globaltolocal.org), welcome conversations with an open heart.
This is not only a time of transition for staff but also an opportunity for our organization to restructure in a way that is more impactful. With our incredible team and programs, we are eager to find the right partners to help us continue reorganizing and creating a larger impact in Washington. To support our work, you can donate directly to Global To Local.
Dear Valued Partners, Funders, Donors, Vendors, and Clients,
Happy New Year!
We are excited to share an important update from our team at Global To Local. After a period of transition, which admittedly had its challenges, we are turning a new page in our journey. It’s with great enthusiasm that we announce Sandra Largaespada is stepping into the role of Interim Executive Director at Global To Local.
Sandra brings to the table an impressive repertoire of organizational leadership skills, strategic vision and operational skills. Her experience and insights are invaluable, especially as we navigate through our most pressing issues.
Her immediate focus is to reinforce the foundations of our organization, ensuring that every team member is empowered and every process is optimized for efficiency. Sandra’s approach is holistic – she understands that the strength of Global To Local lies in the collaboration between our partners, funders, vendors, and clients.
We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to each one of you for your patience and continued support during this phase. Your belief in our mission fuels our efforts, and we are eager to move forward with renewed focus under Sandra’s leadership.
In the coming weeks, Sandra plans to engage directly with many of you, understanding your perspectives and discussing the way forward. We are confident that her leadership will not only guide Global To Local back on track but also propel us towards greater achievements.
We are enthusiastic about this new chapter and are certain that with Sandra’s leadership, our journey ahead will be impactful and inspiring.
Thank you for being a part of our story. Let’s continue to make a difference together!
The Digital Marketing Manager is responsible for creating and publishing a wide variety of digital media content to promote G2L’s programs and presence in the community. While this position will be involved in raising the profile of all of our programs and services, the main focus of the role is supporting our Food Innovation Network program, with an emphasis on promoting Spice Bridge and providing branding and marketing support for the food businesses participating in the program. Learn more and apply here.
One year ago, when we wrote this letter for our Global to Local (G2L) 2021 Year in Review, we looked forward to moving past the complexities of pandemic life and fully adapting to our new way of life. I’m happy to say that 2022 represented a year of successful transitions, a year that embraced our “new normal” and allowed us to look forward. Zoom, Teams, Slack Huddles are routine connecting methods, but 2022 saw us come back together and connect in-person with each other and with our community.
We are humbled and grateful to our clients, community partners, and funders for walking along side with us to improve the health of our communities. With hope and optimism, we will continue to partner with all of you to create a community where everyone can thrive.
We hope you will enjoy reading our 2022 program highlights. Thank you for your partnership in our work to advance health equity and create communities where all people belong and thrive.
The SeaTac Tukwila Community Coalition formally adopted the coalition’s Collective Vision, an article of statement that highlights the coalition’s mission, values, strategic focus, and desired community outcomes. The Coalition Collective Vision is formalized as follows:
The SeaTac Tukwila Community Coalition (STCC) is a multi-cultural, BIPOC led coalition of community-based organizations. With deep community relationships and lived experience, we work together to address the current economic, social, and racial disparities in SeaTac & Tukwila.
We are known for successfully creating anti-racist and inclusive solutions, in partnership with those we serve. We serve those who are left out of the decision-making processes and furthest to resources and opportunities: immigrant and refugee families who live in South King County. This area is the region’s busiest cultural hub, home to one of the highest concentrations of newly arrived immigrants and refugees.
We work to remove structural barriers to ensure that our community builds wealth and lives healthy lives. We do this by supporting and elevating community and youth voices through leadership development, in-language training (i.e. training provided in different languages), and programs designed using knowledge gained by working on the ground with community. We build community power by leveraging our collective resources. We are building a movement where communities write their own destiny.
The outcomes we’re striving for:
Our community is powerful, and its leaders represent lived experiences relevant to the community. They are policy and systems changers. They create equitable pathways for community empowerment.
Our community has equitable access to economic mobility, healthy and cultural food, affordable housing, culturally relevant health services, and open green space.
Our community is healthy and thriving. Through their impactful advocacy, they are addressing displacements, advancing climate health, and building flourishing cultural communities.
We started 2021 with many of the same challenges and uncertainties that we faced in 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic continued into another year. In spite of these unprecedented times, we are proud that, alongside trusted partners, Global to Local staff were able to continue delivering critical services and programs for the community and remain committed to our mission to advance health equity in South King County.
Our organization also continued to grow to better meet the needs of our community. Five new staff members joined us last year, and we also added two new members to our Board of Directors, all bringing in new ideas and fresh perspectives to help us move our work forward. We will continue growing in 2022 and look forward to engaging with partners and community members, as well as staff and our board, to determine our strategic direction for the next several years.
We hope you will enjoy reading our 2021 program highlights. Thank you for your partnership in our work to advance health equity and create communities where all people belong and thrive.
Global to Local, with support from The Commonwealth Fund, has launched a new resource offering guidance for health care delivery organizations, community-based organizations and others to support application of lessons from global health to improve primary health care in the U.S. While these lessons will apply broadly, primary audiences for the resource and implementation guide are those caring for populations that have historically not been well served by the health system. Primary health care” is an internationally developed concept that extends far beyond delivery of health services, and that emphasizes community empowerment and multisectoral collaboration to improve health and health equity broadly.
Since its founding in 2010, Global to Local has looked abroad for ideas and inspiration to guide development of its programs in South King County. Along the way, G2L has been privileged to interact with many others with a shared interest in incorporating global learning to strengthen their work in the United States. However, despite broad acknowledgment that all health is global, and that we have much to learn from the rest of the world, there is little existing guidance for community-based organizations or health care delivery systems on HOW to go about identifying and implementing lessons from global health. Along with a panel of experts, Global to Local developed a framework for global learning that outlines key steps that organizations can take to identify and adopt promising approaches from other countries. In addition to an extensive collection of resources to support identification and adoption of effective strategies and programs from throughout the world, the guide includes a self-reflection tool to help organizations determine how prepared they are to implement global learning, and a compilation of suggested activities that can stimulate progress.
The Global Learning for U.S. Primary Health Care resource and implementation guide can be found here.
FIN is excited to find their next Market Relations Manager!
The Market Relations Manager is responsible for cultivating partnerships and development of market and sales channels for businesses in the nonprofit Food Business Incubator. This position manages the development and coordination of off-site sales (outside of Spice Bridge) such as farmers markets, pop-ups, and new satellite vending locations under development and anticipated to open in 2022. FIN is looking for someone with food industry and marketing experience to support women of color and immigrant entrepreneurs to start and grow thriving businesses. Learn more and apply here.
