FEEST on this: Youth engagement for community change in the King County Food and Fitness Initiative

Empowering youth to affect change in their lives and their communities can result in healthier youth and communities. The Food Empowerment Education and Sustainability Team (FEEST) engages youth 12-24 in two ethnically diverse communities in King County, WA around food justice and food systems. At FEEST, youth and adults participate as equals. The core of the program is weekly dinners where youth cook and eat local fresh food while engaging in facilitated discussions about community, local food systems, and the role social determinants of health play in access to healthy food. A second core component is the paid youth internship program. Since FEEST's inception in 2008 through 2012, there have been over 900 participants in dinners and over 36 paid interns. Key success factors include: egalitarian youth-adult relationships, youth-driven programming, clear roles and expectations, project-based learning with paid internships, and using food and community meals as the convening platform.