Group photo depicting "The Eggrolls" standing outside of ChuMinh Tofu.
Community

South End Guides ❘ Mutual Aid Groups in South Seattle

by Amanda Ong

Need help with food, clothing, or other essentials; or want to give directly to our South End neighbors? South Seattle has a number of wonderful mutual aid groups that help sustain and support our communities. Mutual aid is a practice of direct community and resource sharing to help meet each other’s needs — typically without ties to nonprofits or other organizations. Instead of charity, mutual aid operates in solidarity, recognizing that our health and well-being are bound up in collective care. 

Sounds great, but how do you find these mutual aid groups? 

Most groups have an Instagram or Facebook account, but it’s hard to know where to look if you don’t know what to search for. The goal of this guide is to make that a little easier. If you’re looking for anything, from clothes to food to toiletries, diapers, and baby formula, you can find it at these groups. Looking for ways to help? You can find that here too! 

Listed below are some of the South End’s mutual aid groups, how to contact them, and what they most need help with right now. For information about starting your own mutual aid group, check out this Mutual Aid 101 Toolkit.

Know of a group that should be on our list? Send us a tip at Community@seattleemerald.org.

This guide will be updated periodically, so check back for current info.

Across Seattle

Seattle Community Fridge

Seattle Community Fridge is a mutual aid group based in fridges across Seattle stocked with food and other basic items for people to take as they need. Find all of its locations and food donation safety guidelines on its website. Its fridges are stocked with free food and nonperishable items.

  • Location: Various
  • Email: SeattleCommunityFridge@gmail.com
  • Instagram: @Seattle CommunityFridge 
  • Venmo: @SeattleCommunityFridge 
  • Most in demand: Fridge hosts, volunteers with vehicles for fridge transport, menstrual products and diapers, non-PB&J sandwiches, tofu, canned hearty meals like ravioli and chili, sterno cans, hand sanitizer, hand warmers, sweet treats, and soda.
  • To donate: Check out the food safety guidelines before donating. Donate at any of its community fridges. To donate a fridge, contact Seattle Community Fridge here. To host a fridge, sign up here. For large-scale donations, please fill out this form.
  • To volunteer: Check out its volunteer application and join its email list.

Central Seattle

A Will & A Way Mutual Aid

A Will & A Way is a horizontal mutual aid collective that has outreach teams distributing in Capitol Hill every Wednesday at 7 p.m. The organization values being a true mutual aid collective rather than a charity, and as such, tries to connect with individuals in the neighborhood about specific needs rather than bulk supply. Right now, it is working on providing supplies like sleeping bags and tents given the increase in sweeps.

CID

“The Eggrolls” Little Saigon Mutual Aid and ChuMinh Tofu 

ChuMinh Tofu has been hosting free hot, vegan meals and distributing survival supplies each Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., at 1043 S. Jackson St. in Little Saigon. Organizers known as “The Eggrolls” also organize free clothes, bags, toiletries, snacks, drinks, masks, and hand sanitizer along with the Sunday meal each week.

  • Location: 1043 S. Jackson St. 
  • Venmo: @TheEggrolls 
  • Email: TheEggrollCrew@gmail.com
  • Instagram: @ChuMinhTofu
  • Facebook: ChuMinh Tofu and Vegan Deli
  • Most in demand: Clothes, individually wrapped snacks, or drinks. 
  • To donate: Donate items by dropping them off any Sunday, 10 to 11:30 a.m., at ChuMinh. To send monetary donations via Venmo, PayPal, or Cash App, please email TheEggrollCrew@gmail.com. 
  • To volunteer: They need support on Saturday mornings to cut and prepare tofu and veggies from 9 to 11 a.m., and support each Sunday serving food, picking up trash, and distributing supplies.

CID Mutual Aid

The Seattle Chinatown-International District Mutual Aid (CID MA) team provides direct aid using a framework of anti-racism, anti-oppression, and cultural lens to bridge language, medical, and survival needs to residents living unsheltered in the CID. It has been providing rapid response since 2020 to residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, city sweeps, heat waves, smoke, and emergency response. 

  • Email: CIDMutualAid@gmail.com
  • Instagram: @CIDMutualAidSeattle
  • Twitter: @CIDMutualAid
  • Cash App: $CIDMutualAid
  • Most in demand: Tents, sleeping bags, tarps, heaters, hand warmers, wool socks, backpacks, and winter coats. CID has a more specific list of items available through its Amazon wishlist.
  • To donate: Contact the team to arrange for item donation. Please send monetary donations through its Cash App.
  • To volunteer: Fill out CID Mutual Aid’s volunteer form.

South Seattle

Long Haul Kitchen

Long Haul Kitchen provides mutual aid for unsheltered and homeless folks in Georgetown and SODO. Volunteers are needed each Sunday to cook and deliver food.

(North) Beacon Hill Mutual Aid

This group provides supplies to homeless neighbors, including water in the summer, warming kits and propane for cooking in the winter, and also posts fundraisers for community members at risk of losing housing or unable to pay bills.

  • Email: HOCSBeaconHill@gmail.com
  • Instagram: @beaconhillma
  • Twitter: @BeaconHillMA
  • Patreon: www.patreon.com/BeaconHillMA
  • CashApp: $HOCSBeaconHill
  • PayPal: HOCSBeaconHill@gmail.com
  • To donate: Give directly to their PayPal, CashApp, or Patreon to help, or check their Instagram for more ways to help.

Beauty in Our Community

BIPOC and allying youth in South Seattle determined for change and passionate about mutual aid. They also help with Sunday distributions every week at ChuMinh Tofu in the CID, listed above.

  • Email: 3eautyInOurCommunity@gmail.com
  • Instagram: @BeautyInOurCommunity
  • Most in demand: Nonperishable food, menstrual products, bags, tents, blankets, clothes like pants and T-shirts (made of long-lasting quality), and baby food/formula. It is currently accepting gift cards. 
  • To donate: Email or contact the group on Instagram for more information on donating items.
  • To volunteer: Fill out the Beauty in Our Community Application to join this South Seattle youth collective, or volunteer with them at ChuMinh Tofu on Sundays.

For the People 206

For the People (FTP) is a grassroots, community-led, on-the-ground organization centered around community building. Its mission is to dismantle oppressive systems through compassion, companionship, love, and hot meals!

  • Instagram: @FTP206
  • Venmo: @FTP206
  • Cash App: $FTP206
  • Most in demand: Harm reduction/PPE, including masks, rapid tests, narcan, gloves, sanitizer and sanitizing wipes, condoms and lube, needles and disposal boxes, Band-Aids and bandages, antibiotic ointment, general first aid supplies, hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol, and ibuprofen. Food and drinks needed are soda, water, Gatorade, shelf-stable milk and protein shakes, pudding cups, fruit snacks, chewy granola bars, chips, nuts, jerky, peanut butter, and easy-open canned goods. Clothing and shoes needed include duffel bags, luggage, shoes in good condition, underwear, socks, clothes in season, and hats. Hygiene products needed include deodorant, toothpaste, mouthwash, toothbrushes, menstrual products, baby wipes, toilet paper, bar soap, nail clippers, combs, brushes, lotion, chapstick, and ear plugs. Other supplies needed include tents, tarps, lanterns, headlamps, lighters, tea light candles, sunscreen, reusable bags, journals, paper, art supplies, writing utensils, and pet supplies.
  • To donate: Contact FTP on Instagram for more information on donating items.

Musang Community Kitchen

Musang, Chef Melissa Miranda’s award-winning restaurant in Beacon Hill, has also been running a community kitchen during the pandemic. It works directly with its partners to provide meals to community members in need, and works with groups like the Seattle Southeast Senior Center, Real Change, Wasat, Food Intentions, and more.

South and East King County

South King County and Eastside Covid19 Mutual Aid

South King County and Eastside Covid19 Mutual Aid (SKC&E) provides grocery and essential item delivery, resource mapping and pod mapping, and survivor support in south King County and the Eastside. Resource mapping and pod mapping are strategies it offers to connect individuals with the resources they need to support each other in the community. It needs support with buying and delivering groceries to families and individuals, administrative tasks and coordination, and monitoring its hotline. It offers support to pantries, pods, and other folks who want to start and grow the capacity of their mutual aid projects in this region. 

BIPOC Food Sovereignty Pantry 

The BIPOC Food Sovereignty Pantry is a collaborative effort by South King County and Eastside Covid19 Mutual Aid, Uprooted & Rising Seattle, and Queer The Land. These groups are “organizing community pantries in South King County. Our long term goal is to achieve food sovereignty. We will be buying products directly from local BIPOC farmers, as well as supplementing with what we aren’t able to buy from local farmers. Your monthly support ensures we can continue our community pantries and purchase produce directly from BIPOC farmers.” It is based out of Burien.

  • Venmo: @KCMutualAidPantries
  • Patreon: Covid19 Mutual Aid Pantries
  • Most in demand: Monetary donations.
  • To donate: Directly Venmo the group or use its Patreon.

Auburn Mutual Aid 

Auburn Mutual Aid is a collective of neighbors who provide mutual aid support for BIPOC, undocumented, queer and trans, and low-income folks in Auburn. It runs weekly food pantry events, shares resources, and bills support for community members, which you can find more information on, including dates and times, on its Instagram. 

  • Email: AuburnMutualAid@gmail.com
  • Instagram: @AuburnMutualAid 
  • Twitter: @AuburnMutualAid 
  • Venmo: @AuburnMutualAid 
  • Cash App: $AuburnMA
  • Most in demand: Tents, socks, and sleeping bags are of high priority. Other items that have been mentioned are tarps, blankets, and propane.
  • To donate: Arrange for donations through Instagram contact or email.
  • To volunteer: Fill out its volunteer form to help organize distribution.

Amanda Ong (she/her) is a Chinese American writer from California. She is currently a master’s candidate at the University of Washington Museology program and graduated from Columbia University in 2020 with degrees in creative writing and ethnicity and race studies.

📸 Featured Image: ChuMinh Tofu hosts free hot, vegan meals and distributes survival supplies each Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at 1043 S. Jackson St. in Little Saigon. Organizers known as the “Eggrolls” also organize free clothes, bags, toiletries, snacks, drinks, masks, and hand sanitizer along with the Sunday Meal each week. (Photo: Fairooz Newaz)

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Before you move on to the next story …
The South Seattle Emerald is brought to you by Rainmakers. Rainmakers give recurring gifts at any amount. With over 1,000 Rainmakers, the Emerald is truly community-driven local media. Help us keep BIPOC-led media free and accessible. 
 
If just half of our readers signed up to give $6 a month, we wouldn't have to fundraise for the rest of the year. Small amounts make a difference. 
 
We cannot do this work without you. Become a Rainmaker today!