by Ronnie Estoque

On Feb. 23, the Rainier Valley Food Bank (RVFB) held its first open house at its new South Seattle location on 9021 Rainier Avenue South. Motivated by a growing need to increase its capacity and programming capabilities, RVFB purchased the property from Bonney Watson last year. The site is over 8,000 square feet, significantly larger than their previous site, which was about 1,200 square feet. RVFB has served the South End community since 1991 and was originally founded as Northwest Community Services before changing its name in 2008. RVFB’s previous location, which it had occupied for over 25 years, was located at 4205 Rainier Ave. S. The food bank was able to acquire and renovate their new building through corporate, State, City, and private donors, which included United Way of King County and the City’s Human Services Department.