A New Thanksgiving for Ballard Food Bank

by Jen Muzia, Executive Director

Fall is in the air. Leaves are changing and the days are cold and crisp. Folks are excited for the holiday season. This week our neighbors are shopping in the food bank for turkeys, stuffing, and mashed potatoes. Families are getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving.

This November looks different. For the first time in 15 years, Ballard Food Bank is not holding the Seattle Turkey Trot. Back in the summer we shared that we were sunsetting this event and reimagining how we want to engage our community. We shared how, as we were emerging from the pandemic with fresh perspective, we asked ourselves: What events and practices from the past do we want to continue, and which ones are best to say goodbye to? We also asked: What aligns with our organization’s values?

As with many decisions, there are multiple reasons we decided to move on from the Seattle Turkey Trot. One important factor is that we are busier than ever. And during the season that tends to be our busiest time of year, we are focusing on how to better serve our community as folks struggle with rising inflation, food shortages and double the need.

Another important factor is that November is Native American Heritage Month. Our values call for us to be stewards of the land, center our community, and value the lived experience of Native American people. We know that for many in our Indigenous community, Thanksgiving is a day of mourning—and holding a fundraiser on that day no longer aligned with our values.

Thanksgiving is a complex holiday—much more complex and painful than the history that many of us learned in school. Recognizing this complexity, we invite you to join us in learning from and supporting the First Peoples. There are several intentional steps we have taken to honor our commitment to Native Americans this month and beyond:

· Ballard Food Bank has committed to paying Real Rent to the Duwamish. We give thanks to the Duwamish and Coast Salish people, the original caretakers of Shilshole and Seattle. Given our nonprofit status, the staff and Board of Directors have chosen to dedicate the money we save from property taxes to the Duwamish.  We invite our community to learn more about Real Rent and the Duwamish peoples.

· November is a time for us to value the lived experience of the Indigenous community, honor their diverse culture, recognize the land where we built our new Ballard Food Bank home, and celebrate the Native American community. We want to uplift Indigenous-led agencies like Chief Seattle Club and organizations supporting food sovereignty. We invite you to learn more about organizations that are contributing to the well-being of Indigenous people.

· Our team has learned a great deal about the history of Thanksgiving by reading the works of Indigenous authors such as Sean Sherman—we highly recommend his writings. As the founder and CEO of The Sioux Chef and author of The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen, he wrote this piece, sharing his thoughts on the complexity of Thanksgiving. Sherman writes:

“I have not abandoned the holiday. I have just changed how I practice it. The thing is, we do not need the poisonous ‘pilgrims and Indians’ narrative. We do not need that illusion of past unity to actually unite people today. Instead, we can focus simply on values that apply to everybody: togetherness, generosity and gratitude.”

This November, we lift up our Indigenous community and all that they have contributed through their lived experience. During this Thanksgiving season, we are grateful for our generous community who help our neighbors have healthy food on their table for Thanksgiving dinner…and every other day of the year.