Farm groups raise $1 million to help Washington farmers recover from floods

Farmers in Washington state got some financial help to recover from December’s floods. 

In the months since the historic floods in late 2025, the Snoqualmie Valley Preservation Alliance, Pike Place Market Foundation, Tilth Alliance, the Washington Farmland Trust and other organizations coordinated efforts to raise more than $1 million to help farmers.

“We’ve been hearing from farmers that this funding has been really meaningful,” said Lauren Silver-Turner, executive director of the Snoqualmie Valley Preservation Alliance, which awarded $393,500 to 82 farms with awards ranging from $1,000 to $5,000. Fifty-seven awards, totaling $305,000 were given to farms in King County and $88,000 to 25 farms in Snohomish County. She was talking at an April 9 King County Agriculture Commission meeting.

She added that farmers appreciate the flexibility and quickness of the application, which could be completed in around 20 minutes. The grants filled the gaps from larger relief programs. 

“One of the biggest takeaways is how important it is to have local organizations that can move quickly and are trusted in the community,” Silver-Turner said. 

She highlighted the partnerships with other organizations including Sno-Valley Tilth, Snoqualmie Valley Farmers Co-op, King County Local Food Initiative, King Conservation District, Pacific Northwest BIPOC Farmland Trust, and the Hmong Association of Washington. 

The Pike Place Foundation is looking to award around $300,000 to approximately 35 farmers. The foundation has experience helping farmers offering grants since the 1990s, said Crystal Dixon, deputy director with the Pike Place Market Foundation. 

Tilth Alliance awarded $230,000 to 44 farms with an average award being $5,227. Farms in King, Snohomish, Skagit, Pierce, Whatcom, Thurston and Whitman counties received help. 

Washington Farmland Trust had $120,000 available to help farms. The organization awarded $109,000 to 45 applicants through two rounds of funding. A third round, going through held applications, will award the remaining $11,000, said Libby Reed with the Washington Farmland Trust. She said many of the awards went to farms in Snohomish County, which lacks a dedicated county-wide fundraising effort to help farmers.

Groups generally used the same criteria in determining who receives awards: severity of dame, urgency of need, and farm vulnerability.

Organizations were slowed down by several fraudulent applications that were winnowed out during the selection process. For example, the Snoqualmie Valley Preservation Alliance rejected 40 fraudulent applications. The SVPA had 15 people, working in groups of three, to review applications.

Reed highlighted the collaboration and coordination that took place between the organizations. The Washington Farmland Trust referred applicants from King County to the Snoqualmie Valley Preservation Alliance and Tilth Alliance. 

Around 30 percent of the farmland in King County was impacted by December’s flood. Of $182 million of damage statewide, $117 million took place in King County, said Brendan McCluskey, director of King County’s Office of Emergency Management. 

“We recognize farming and agriculture in King County was impacted pretty significantly,” McClusky said. 

King County has a page that provides updates on food recovery efforts.

He added the Small Business Administration issued a disaster declaration in February which provided access to low-interest loans to businesses that suffered physical damage and economic damage. While Small Business Administration loans won’t cover agriculture losses it, it can cover business losses unrelated to agriculture production such as agritourism. 

Officials noted the demand for flood recovery assistance was higher than money available. The Washington Farmland Trust had 38 remaining applications for $11,000 in available funding. The SVPA received 128 applications for help and Tilth Alliance receive 62 applications. 

Reed said the math was difficult with hard decisions that had to be made.  She added that a universal shared application could be developed down the road.

“Real recovery is going to take years and not in a season,” Reed said.