Key Peninsula Organizations Prepare to Prevent Hunger

Zaida Woodworth, executive director of Food Backpacks 4 Kids, occupies two worlds.

One foot is firmly on rented ground in Key Center, managing the FB4K and Food 4 All programs that include a Saturday farmstand, an extensive back-to-school program, a family resource center, a food pantry, and a home delivery food service.

The other foot is hovering over a newly purchased 7-acre property on the south side of Key Center that will house Food 4 All. Ambitious plans for the land and premises include volunteers cultivating a field of crops, a farmstand selling locally grown produce, a fully appointed kitchen designed for cooking lessons, administrative offices, and a meeting hub for the community. The location is expected to be operational in the summer of 2026.

Meanwhile, five miles south on the KP Highway, Robyn Readwin, recently hired executive director of Key Peninsula Community Services, is working to manage the expansion of an established social services site operating since 1982.

KPCS houses a food pantry, senior center, meal site, and a Homeless Housing Program. KPCS is increasing the available workspace needed to serve the growing needs of its clients and outreach programs, Readwin said. It is one of the few food bank locations that also houses a senior center.

Both organizations have recently seen increased demand for services, with the rise in food prices squeezing low-income individuals’ ability to afford both food and shelter.

The two nonprofits are exploring how to work together to better serve their clients and avoid duplicating services. “KPCS and Food Backpacks 4 Kids are closely aligned in their missions. We are eager to serve the community together in a type of partnership in the near future,” Readwin said. “Both organizations have strengths to serve the whole peninsula.”

As federal funding shrinks, most notably with the abrupt termination of USDA-funded provisions to food programs in March of this year, local agencies are straining to cover the current and anticipated needs of families and seniors on fixed incomes.

KPCS has looked to local organizations for funding support. The Altrusa Foundation of Gig Harbor and the KP’s Angel Guild have both provided grant money specifically for the purchase of staples and proteins. “Their gifts help keep our food pantry shelves stocked and ensure we can continue connecting our community to nutritious food,” Readwin said.

Readwin said she was surprised by how many people rely on the bread closet at the KPCS. The bread closet is stocked with bread, produce, some frozen items, and staples like beans, flour, and rice. It is open to all and can be utilized more than once a month, unlike the food pantry.

“We have had a 42% increase in use of the food pantry this year over July of last year,” said Woodworth about FB4K. “We have been told that canned goods prices will soon rise, as a result of tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration. The EFN (Emergency Food Network, the supplier of goods for food banks in all of Pierce County) is very concerned about rising prices and how to meet the needs. Since January 2025, we have experienced surges in need — our families cite housing costs, medical bills, and high food costs.”

Woodworth said FB4K is evolving into a more comprehensive organization called Food 4 All to serve more people while maintaining its existing programs.

“Our goal is to develop a Key Peninsula food system,” she said. “Food 4 All Lakebay residents is about coming together as a community, and working together for food supply for all of our benefit. It’s making jam together and getting to know our neighbors again, working together for a good cause, but also it’s about community.”

Food 4 All’s Saturday farmstand is supplied by local farmers, including Honeywood Farm, Adam’s Mushrooms, Astrid’s Lavender, Creviston Valley Farm, Key Peninsula Beekeepers, and Key Peninsula Produce Express. Shoppers paid by donation.

Tedi Spiering, 75, has been volunteering at the Creviston Valley Farm and the farmstand. “I loved weeding, I love the process, growing from start to finish, and helping families. We need more loving compassion, and helping in the community is a way to show it.”

Volunteers are needed at both organizations for the food banks and delivery, driving, farm work, and other positions, according to Woodworth and Readwin.

Contact KPCS at info@yourkpcs.org or FB4K at info@foodbackpacks4kids.org for more information.

Editor’s note: Vicki Biggs serves on the board of directors for KPCS. Lisa Bryan contributed to that portion of this report.