
Happy Lunar New Year to all our friends who celebrate! Today begins the Year of the Wood Snake, an auspicious sign for Backpack Brigade in 2025. The Wood Snake is a symbol of growth and adaptability, which this year we are taking literally, expanding to serve more hungry kids and adapting to operate in a rapidly changing non-profit environment.Â
One thing we’ve learned over the 10 years we’ve been working to end weekend hunger for King County’s kids is that when it comes to food, one choice doesn’t serve all. Kids come to us with a wide variety of dietary, cultural, and religious preferences in their food, and we’ve developed our ABC Food Bags to meet those needs. Today we’re focusing on our Asian-American menu, fittingly packed in red bags, which serves those kids requesting foods that meet both certain dietary requirements and the flavors and textures with which they are familiar. We talked to our nutritionist and Board Member, Marcy McAdams, to delve deeper into the factors we take into consideration for this particular menu.

How are our Asian American bags informed by the immigrant experience?
The Asian community is very diverse, representing a lot of different countries and cultures. We try to get feedback from a variety of representatives to help form our bags, though our bags are informed primarily by feedback from Far-East and South-East Asian sources. Someday I hope to be able to have different bags to represent all the different countries and cultures!
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Are there any special nutritional considerations we have for the Asian population specifically?
There are not specific nutritional requirements for our Asian bags, we still use the overall guidelines for children set by the USDA that we follow for all our bags. However, we try to adapt to the different religious and cultural preferences of our Asian communities.
How important is it to recognize cultural preferences when we’re developing these menus?
It is very important! When a child is experiencing food insecurity it not only affects their physical health but can also have a major impact on their mental health. By trying our best to learn their food preferences, it makes these children feel seen and heard and can go a long way in helping them know their worth as an individual.

Is it harder to source culturally specific food?Â
It is very hard! Not only are there the always-present problems of sourcing and cost, but the diversity of the community itself can make gathering information on specific foods tough.
Are there any suggestions for creating a celebratory meal in honor of Lunar New Year from the bag contents?
Try a mixture of sweet, spicy, and salty for a delicious and festive treat. Crush Amki Sesame Snack and mix with sea salt Edamame. Sprinkle on top of fried rice and add a dash (or two!) of your favorite hot sauce. Enjoy!
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