Full Bellies and Bookshelves: Increasing Reading Access at Ballard Food Bank
Less than 50% of Americans read one novel or short story over the course of 12 months. According to Arts Participation Patterns, "Over the previous ten years, reading of novels and short stories has declined at a 17 percent rate."
The children’s bookshelf is often brimming with colorful and bold books
Seattle Book Project is a local non-profit dedicated to sharing the joy and wonders of reading with neighbors at common places where community gathers. This includes but is not limited to schools, prisons, hospitals, shelters, refugee programs, senior centers, and Ballard Food Bank!
Ballard Food Bank offers much more than food. Thanks to Seattle Book Project, we offer varying genres of adult and children books that are sure to increase joy, empathy, and improved cognitive function for kids and adults who visit our Hub for Hope.
Zoe poses with two books she thinks will be popular for kids visiting the food bank
In 2025, Seattle Book Project redistributed over 280,000 books to over 100 different destinations. They spend a lot of time collecting books from a variety of sources and organizing them to be redistributed. On Mondays, their volunteers pick up books from the warehouse and bring them home to organize. One of their committed volunteers is Zoe T., a local Seattle college student who's been a familiar face at Ballard Food Bank since 2022.
Zoe, bright and smiling, shares that she got acquainted with Ballard Food Bank while fulfilling required high school service hours. Zoe recalls, "I heard that a lot of people from my high school were volunteering here, and I thought it sounded like a lot of fun." After volunteering for a couple months, she asked about the possibility of bringing books in. She said, "It is important for everyone to have access to books because reading can build a lot of skills that are important throughout life, such as empathy and kindness. Books can also help kids develop vocabulary and stay caught up in school." She is now in her fourth year of bringing books to our market weekly.
Her favorite part about connecting Seattle Book Project and Ballard Food Bank is seeing the joy on people's faces when they see a new set of books out on the shelves. Zoe recalls, "I love when I am shelving books and there are young kids shopping with their parents that are so excited they can't even wait for me to get the books on the shelves, and come dig through the boxes next to me. I also love when grandparents or members of the community come to me and describe the young kids in their life, and we get to pick books for them together." Zoe gets evident fulfillment from getting to know people through books.
The bookshelves in the Community Market are set up at the front of the checkout stands where volunteers bag free groceries. In the summer, when books are more popular, Zoe is often using all 12 bookshelves for books. Sometimes the books share space with baby food or miscellaneous items offered in the Community Market like holiday decorations.
Access to books that kids actually want to read is important for building reading habits
Zoe is very thoughtful on organizing each shelf. The bookshelf on the left is dedicated to adult books and usually has adult books on the top four shelves, with the leftover space dedicated to books in Spanish or large print. The bookshelf on the right is dedicated to a younger audience. Zoe says, "I try to start the top shelves with chapter books for an older age group, and then put early readers, picture books, and board books below. Whenever we have access to any games or art supplies we bring those and put them on the bottom shelf."
She pays attention to what's popular," Since I started bringing books in 2022 we have tested out different kinds of books. Once when I was putting books on the shelves someone asked for Spanish adult novels, and we were able to add those into the rotation … I am always open to suggestions and love hearing feedback from people while I am volunteering."
The Seattle Book Project and Zoe value choice just as we do at Ballard Food Bank.
Zoe says, "Books can put you in someone else's shoes, and increase your understanding of the world around you." Zoe is unsurprisingly an avid reader. The first series of books she ever read was the A to Z Mysteries series. It cultivated her love for mystery books that has continued ever since. As an adult she now also loves an autobiography or any historical fiction. Her favorite author is Tana French.
March is National Reading Month, a nationwide celebration encouraging kids, families, and communities to make reading a daily habit. We are so grateful to be able to celebrate it by offering a wide range of books this month (and every month) thanks to Zoe and Seattle Book Project. Thank you both for your incredible contributions to our community.
How can families and individuals celebrate National Reading Month? By reading together daily, visiting local libraries, hosting a friends/family book night, exploring free reading resources available through the King County Library System and Seattle Public Libraries, and creating your own reading challenges.
