The Food Oasis Fresh Market is the next step in turning our food-system work into a place people can actually see, use, and experience.

What began with cold storage, distribution, and relationships with local growers has gradually shown us what is still missing. Farmers need more dependable places to sell. Small food businesses need affordable infrastructure and access to customers. Families and community organizations need easier ways to purchase fresh, locally sourced food. The Fresh Market is being developed to bring those needs together under one roof.

Food Oasis started with a simple idea: create the storage capacity needed to help local food move more reliably through our region.

Cold storage gave us a place to begin. It allowed us to support growers, hold inventory, coordinate deliveries, and better understand the operational challenges that exist between the farm and the final buyer. As the work grew, we realized that storage alone was only one part of the problem.

Food Oasis co-founders Gavin Amos and Mario Sanchez were selected to participate as Frontline Fellows, an opportunity that recognizes community leaders working directly on systems change and neighborhood-level impact.

Food Oasis was featured in The Seattle Times as part of a broader story examining the opportunities and challenges facing farmers of color in Washington after the surge in demand and emergency food purchasing that came during the pandemic.

Some of the biggest changes in Food Oasis have started with a decision that felt small at the time.

When Solomon Dubie and Gavin Amos approached me about investing in the effort to move an entire cold storage facility to our Georgetown location, the idea was ambitious. It required money, time, coordination, and a willingness to believe that the infrastructure itself could create new opportunities for local farmers and food businesses.

Talking about a more equitable food system is important. Building the systems that actually move food is where the work becomes real.

For Food Oasis, that shift became tangible through our Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) contract, which gave us the opportunity to help serve and fulfill food for 34 food banks across King County. The work required more than good intentions. It meant coordinating growers, sourcing food, managing logistics, organizing fulfillment, and making sure products reached community partners reliably.

Growth does not happen by accident. It takes space, infrastructure, and a willingness to build for what comes next.

For Food Oasis, Make Room for Growth represents the next chapter of our work. We are expanding beyond storage and distribution into a more complete food system that includes the Food Oasis Fresh Market and the Food Oasis Marketplace.