Answering Recent Questions About the Lopez Food Center

The Lopez Food Center wants to take a minute to respond to the thoughtful questions community members have been asking. We thought we would start with a little history and an important piece of context: the majority of funding that has brought this project to life has come from outside Lopez Island, through grants and private contributions secured specifically to support this community investment.


The Food Center is a grassroots effort of nonprofits and food businesses that have been looking at what gaps exist in our food system. We conducted numerous interviews, surveys, focus groups, and community meetings with more than 100 community members to understand their needs. We used that information to carefully design a facility that meets a wide range of needs by collaborating with multiple organizations and businesses.

Why the Village?

A village location was the number one request, for two reasons:

First, food businesses need infrastructure within a two-minute drive, because every minute counts in a busy food operation and staff are limited.

Second, Food Hub retail sales are higher on Orcas and San Juan because they are in highly visible retail locations. The village is a high-traffic area, which allows businesses to reach more potential customers.

The Food Center is also centrally located to over 100 low-income housing units in the Village. That means neighbors can reach it on foot or with a much shorter drive, and it eliminates the cars going back and forth to the current island center location during the shorter hours the Food Share can operate there.

Who's It For?

    • Aspiring food entrepreneurs. Many community members cannot afford to rent or lease a space to start their own restaurant, even though it has been their dream. The Food Center is already zoned for retail and ready-to-eat prepared foods. The kitchen has a take-out window with outdoor seating, as well as a small event space that can hold up to 30 people for pop-up restaurants. The high-traffic, visible location can lead to more customers and more successful businesses. The kitchen can also support new or existing caterers who need a commercial kitchen for larger Lopez event venues, such as the Lopez Center for Community and the Arts, which does not have one and is a short drive away.
    • Food truck operators. Numerous community members are interested in starting a food truck. The Food Center will provide all the infrastructure they need in one spot, with no need to move their trucks.
    • Local farmers and the people who buy from them. If three or more farmers participate in the shared farm stand, then for the first time ever, Lopez residents can use their EBT cards to buy produce and meat directly from farmers. It will also allow Lopez to participate in double bucks programs, which let people buy even more from farmers. The stand will not be open during the farmers market. Instead, it will offer more hours and more ways for Lopezians to buy directly from farmers year-round, since it is not possible for everyone to drive around the island to farm stands.
    • Neighbors who need food. The Food Share needs a safe, ADA-accessible space that can be permanently set up and available more hours and days of the week, with safer working conditions for volunteers. The stairs and loading dock at the current location are not suitable for a food bank in the long term. A nonprofit also generously makes hot meals that are distributed at the Food Share. Having a kitchen and event space in the same facility makes it possible for Lopez to have its first-ever evening hot meal site, serving people of all ages in partnership with the Food Share and numerous nonprofits.
    • The Heart & Soul Recovery Café. The Café needs a dedicated kitchen and small event space in one location. Rent for the Café’s space, in any location, does not come from donations. It is paid with government grants, and the rent at the Food Center will be comparable to what LIFRC currently pays for other spaces.

How is it Funded?

    • Over $6.5 million in state and federal grants were obtained for construction of the facility, because it increases access to the food that low-income households need.
    • $2 million in private foundation grants to support food security for low income households.
    • LIFRC received a $1,250,000 grant from the Medina Foundation. Of that, $500,000 will finish construction of the Food Share space, and $750,000 will go into an endowment restricted to paying the Food Share’s rent, so additional donations will not be needed to support it.

Who is Involved?

The Lopez Food Center is a separate organization from Lopez Island Family Resource Center; it has it’s own board. LIFRC’s Executive Director serves on that board, and LIFRC will be one of several tenants, alongside the Food Hub, food trucks, and office renters.

The Food Center is working with other organizations to ensure equitable access to food, and to make it possible for anyone to start and sustain a food business, in a location that maximizes retail sales and encourages collaborative projects. We are eager to collaborate with other food businesses and organizations working to build a more resilient food system on Lopez, and we welcome conversations with anyone who shares that goal.

Let's Talk

We are happy to meet with any community member to answer your questions. Please email us at board@lopezfoodcenter.org.