Hunger Intervention Program (HIP) is committed to operating as an anti-racist organization.

As an anti-racist organization, HIP believes in both challenging and disrupting racism, as well as promoting policies, practices and behaviors that advance racial equity.

We acknowledge that food insecurity is rooted in systemic and institutionalized economic and social racism that marginalizes low-income and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. We recognize that systemic racism is both historic and current, shaping inequities in outcomes and opportunities.

In Washington State, 1 in 11 individuals struggle with hunger. And nationally, inconsistent access to nutritious meals disproportionately impacts Black and Hispanic populations, who are two to three times as likely to be food insecure as White people. We choose to focus our resources in our North Seattle community on programs and actions that help reduce these inequities.

We are committed to advancing anti-racism throughout all facets of our organization, including our programs, community partnerships and internal operations. These efforts include:

• Locating our programming where people most impacted by food insecurity live or work, and tailoring our efforts to the cultural and dietary preferences of our participants.
• Highlighting BIPOC chefs and hosting holiday celebrations in our programs to provide culturally appropriate meals and other opportunities for our program participants.
• Centering BIPOC community members in our program design, with ongoing dialogues aimed at continual improvements that better serve the needs of our program participants, especially BIPOC community members.
• Working closely with our partners to promote our programs and provide outreach through their trusted community networks.
• Creating a diverse board and staff through an equitable approach to recruitment and hiring. We strive to maintain a board and staff that reflects the communities most impacted by systemic racism.
• Conducting ongoing racial equity training for staff and board members. We work to center the lived experiences of our diverse staff and openly talk about anti-racism as a core value of our organizational culture.
• Incorporating marginalized perspectives in our workspace that challenge existing assumptions about how food justice should occur in our communities.
• Identifying and supporting businesses through an equity-first procurement policy, with a focus on local and BIPOC-owned companies whenever possible.
• Advocating for food justice and economic justice policies at the local, state and federal levels.
• Developing our Community Food Education program curriculum to spur discussions on how to create a just and sustainable food system that provides access to healthy, nutritious meals for every individual, regardless of their race or economic status.

We acknowledge that we are on the traditional land of the Duwamish people. We honor with gratitude the Duwamish people of past and present, who have stewarded the land that we occupy for time immemorial. See our Land Acknowledgment for more information.