Find FIN Food Businesses at Five Farmers Markets in June!

Our Taste Around the Globe booth featuring FIN food businesses gets started at two more farmers markets next month, including our new Tukwila Village Farmers Market! Here's where you can find our booth in June: Renton Farmers Market 3-7 p.m. on Tuesdays

• June 4: East and West Catering
• June 11: Boujee Food & Things
• June 18: Boujee Food & Things
• June 25: East and West Catering

Tukwila Village Farmers Market 4-7 p.m. on Wednesdays

• June 19: East and West Catering
• June 26: Taste of Congo

Burien Farmers Market 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Thursdays

• June 6: Mamá Tila Catering
• June 13: Taste of Congo
• June 20: Mamá Tila Catering
• June 27: Mamá Tila Catering

Pike Place MarketFront 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays

• June 1: Boujee Food & Things
• June 2: Mamá Tila Catering
• June 7: East and West Catering
• June 8: Boujee Food & Things
• June 9: Mamá Tila Catering
• June 14: East and West Catering
• June 15: East and West Catering
• June 16: Mamá Tila Catering
• June 21: East and West Catering
• June 22: TBD
• June 23: Mamá Tila Catering
• June 28: East and West Catering
• June 29: East and West Catering
• June 30: Mamá Tila Catering

Federal Way Farmers Market 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturdays

• June 1: Taste of Congo
• June 8: Taste of Congo
• June 15: Taste of Congo
• June 22: Taste of Congo
• June 29: Taste of Congo

Food and Fashion Makers Night

You can also try FIN food entrepreneurs' offerings at our June 13 Food and Fashion Makers Night fundraising event in Seattle! Tickets are on sale now.

An Eventful April for Our Food Business Incubator!

We’re thrilled to announce that three new food businesses have joined our Incubator:

• Boujee Food & Things serves up comfort food, re-imagined. Check out their catering menu, visit their website, and follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
• Monique’s Hot Kitchen offers authentic Kenyan cuisine made with natural ingredients. Give their catering menu a look, and follow them on Facebook.
• East and West Catering brings fresh flavors from East and West Africa. Their catering menu is coming soon; in the meantime, visit their website to learn about their offerings.

[caption id="attachment_2900" align="alignright" width="252"] Naija Buka's Chef Lilian will launch new sauces at the Cheese and Meat Festival in Seattle on April 20.[/caption]

Tasty events in April

Meet the owners of the new businesses -- and other talented FIN entrepreneurs – at exciting events coming up this month:

• Wednesday, April 10: East and West Catering will begin holding dinner-to-go pop-ups from 5-10 p.m. at Ubuntu Street Café (202 W. Gowe St. in Kent). They have more pop-ups scheduled at the same time and location on April 13, 15, 17, 22, 24, and 29. Their April 13 grand opening pop-up will feature complimentary food and in-store dining.
• Friday, April 12: Boujee Food & Things will begin holding dinner-to-go pop-ups from 5:30-9 p.m. at Ubuntu Street Café (202 W. Gowe St. in Kent). They have more pop-ups scheduled at the same time and location on April 16, 18, 19, 25, 26, and 30. Find them on Uber Eats if you’re looking for delivery!
• Saturday, April 13: FIN's Taste Around the Globe booth will make its debut at Pike Place Market featuring Boujee Food & Things! Come get a delicious lunch or snacks between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Find them in the new MarketFront plaza near indi chocolate and Honest Biscuits. Our booth at Pike Place Market will feature rotating FIN food businesses on April 14, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, and 28.
• Saturday, April 20: Naija Buka will launch their new Mama’s Stew Sauce and Mama’s Jollof Sauce products from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. at the Cheese and Meat Festival. Learn more and get tickets on the event website.
• Saturday, April 27: Mamá Tila will be featured at Project Feast’s Migrating Meals. Learn more and get tickets on the event page.

Community Kitchen Night and Resource Fair

“A Wonderful Time” at Community Kitchen Night

Last week, dozens of community members joined us to share food and stories at Community Kitchen Night, a quarterly event we co-present with the City of SeaTac. This time, we took the celebration outdoors for a barbecue at North SeaTac Park. [caption id="attachment_2492" align="alignright" width="300"] Nga Reh made delicious chicken at Community Kitchen Night.[/caption] Here's what Community Food Advocate Nga Reh said about the evening:

"I had such a wonderful time. It was a great idea to make it an outdoor activity, and I liked the way we shared foods from each of our communities. This was my first time serving food. At first, I was afraid that the people wouldn't like the foods I served. I'm glad that they did! And it was great that anyone could join. If I have another chance, I will participate again!"

Thanks to everyone who came out for this great gathering! Check out more pictures on Facebook. Then mark your calendars for our next Community Kitchen Night, which will be at SeaTac Community Center on Sept. 26.

Namaste Farm Stand Grand Opening

Please join us for the Grand Opening of Namaste Farm Stand at the Tukwila Village Plaza! We’ll have fresh produce for sale, as well as kids’ activities, cooking demonstrations, raffles, and live international music. This free event will kick off Namaste Farm Stand's season at our new Tukwila Village location. Along with our partner, International Rescue Committee’s New Roots program, we're excited to offer two farm stands weekly from 4-7 p.m.:

• Tukwila Village Plaza (14350 Tukwila International Blvd, Tukwila), Wednesdays, June 13 – October 24
• Matt Griffin YMCA in the lobby (3595 S 188th St, SeaTac), Thursdays June 7 – October 25 (non-members are welcome)

Namaste Farm Stand sells fruits and vegetables from local producers including IRC New Roots’s Community Garden (Tukwila), Faith Beyond Farms (Enumclaw), and Collins Family Orchard (Selah). Each week we’ll do a cooking demo showing ways to prepare and cook the variety of produce for sale. We are fortunate to have great partners and funders in making this project happen. FIN and IRC New Roots would like to thank: City of Tukwila, Kona Kai, Communities of Opportunity, Les Dames d’ Escoffier, Matt Griffin YMCA, SHAG, and WSU Extension.

Reflections from Community Kitchen #2

We just finished FIN's 2nd community kitchen event at the  SeaTac community center. I was excited because it was open to the whole community and many people showed up from the City of SeaTac and Highline College.  It was such a great experience to work with new people in the kitchen. I think everyone enjoyed the food and were happy about this event - the most important thing is that people walked out with new friends and new ideas. A big THANK YOU to everyone that helped out. We couldn’t do it with our wonderful advocates; Gladis, Lidia, Muslima, Zozan and myself.  Thank you for sharing dishes from your countries. We are also thankful to all the volunteers, Seth Schromen- Wawrin, Colleen Brandt- Schluter and Erika Martinez we couldn’t do with our help in the kitchen. Brian Tomisser and So Won Kim for organizing event and welcoming guests. If you missed this community kitchen, stay tuned for the next one coming in Fall 2017! Sheelan Shamdeen June, 15,2017  

Healthy Kids Day

Last Saturday, FIN advocates, along with other partners, attended the YMCA's Healthy Kids Day and hosted a cooking station to demonstrate to kids and parents how fun and easy it is to eat healthy food. Here's what Gladis had to say about the experience: "It was a great experience for me to participate in the Healthy kids event at Matt Griffin YMCA. It was the first time that I have the opportunity to teach hands on how to make guacamole, which is a food that represents my culture  and it is also a healthy dip made from vegetables.I really enjoy knowing that a healthy recipe can  make a difference in somebody's life,  especially with children and since this event was family friendly, many families could taste and learn from scratch how to make this food.I am very thankful to FIN for  give me the chance to connect with the community through food."                     - Gladis Clemente   [gallery ids="1449,1450,1451,1452,1453" orderby="rand"]

The 2nd Annual FIN Resource Fair is Here!

We are excited to host the 2nd Annual FIN Resource Fair May 12th from 5:30-8pm at Foster High School. This year we will be bringing together resources for both entrepreneurs and community members. Folks can get help starting a food business, finding a job in the food industry, or taking food and nutrition classes. More than 20 resource providers will be participating. We will have fun children’s activities and feature food from the FIN entrepreneurs.  Join us in celebrating the diversity of South King County through food! If you are interested in coming or want to invite others, visit us on Facebook.

FIN IS INVITING YOU TO TOUR: TAMU FOOD

Tamu Food

Offer Varieties Of Flavors

Come and join us to explore the Local and family owned, Tamu Foods launches production of its specialty gourmet line of Samosas in 2004 due

When: Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Time: 1:00pm to 2:00 pm

To attend please contact Sheelan:

(206)573-0218

sheelan@foodinnovationnetwork.org

foodinnovationnetwork.org

 

First Step – Week 1 (Lynnwood)

CommunityEnterprise offers accessible and affordable "first step" entrepreneurship training, consulting and other support, empowering people in low-wealth and underserved communities to start and grow profitable small businesses sustainably connected to a local, living economy. The First Step series is essential for those who want to start a business. It is not a “How to Start a Business” class. Instead, it will help you assess your readiness and the feasibility of your business idea and business goals. Classes meet for 2 hours a week, for 3 weeks. Apply online at www.cie-nw.org/apply or email communityenterprise@cie-nw.org for more information.