Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS)

04/04/2026

There’s still time to sign up for Walk for Rice! 🎉

Join us on Saturday, May 16 at Seward Park for a day filled with fun activities, live performances, and community spirit—all for a great cause.

Your participation helps support the ACRS Food Bank and nutrition programs, providing nutritious and culturally familiar foods to those who need it most, including seniors and children in our community.

Don’t miss out—register today and be part of something meaningful!
👉 walkforrice.org

Special thanks to our event sponsors:
PREMIER: tms
PARTNER: Arcora Foundation | Delta Dental of Washington
COMMUNITY PARTNER: First Student Inc. | Nintendo | Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple & Buddhist Churches of America | Sheng-Yen Lu Foundation

Additional thanks to:
Gesa Credit Union

04/03/2026

When you support Walk for Rice (walkforrice.org), you do more than stock the ACRS Food Bank.

You also help grow fresh, culturally familiar produce at the Seattle Community Farm, which ACRS manages, nourishing our community with dignity, connection, and care.

In 2025, the Seattle Community Farm provided 5,000 pounds of fresh produce for the ACRS Food Bank and meals prepared for seniors at Club Bamboo, up 8% from 2024.

The farm also gives clients and community members space to grow vegetables from their homelands, helping them stay connected to culture, tradition, and one another.

Yu Chen, a member of our food bank team, also works part time at the farm, where she grows medicinal plants, mustard greens and ai choy – vegetables she once grew in her homeland of Vietnam. These familiar vegetables are especially popular with the seniors who visit the food bank.

When you support Walk for Rice, you help provide food that tastes like home - from the farm to the food bank to the tables of elders and families across our community.

There’s still time to join us! Start a fundraiser, form a team, or make a gift today to support the ACRS Food Bank and Community Farm.

Read more about Yu Chen and the Seattle Community Farm in the South Seattle Emerald (bit.ly/ACRS_Farm).

Special thanks to our event sponsors:
PREMIER: tms
PARTNER: Arcora Foundation | Delta Dental
COMMUNITY PARTNER: First Student Inc. | Nintendo | Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple & Buddhist Churches of America | Sheng-Yen Lu Foundation

Additional thanks to:
Gesa Credit Union

Walk for Rice supports the ACRS Food Bank, helping provide culturally familiar foods to Asian, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and other underserved community members experiencing food insecurity. Every step makes a difference!

04/02/2026

We LOVED having folks from Visa join us at the ACRS Food Bank and we'd LOVE to see you too!

Learn more and sign up at www.bit.ly/ACRSFOODBANKSHIFTS.

03/31/2026

Yesterday was a powerful day for immigrant communities across Washington.

ACRS and APIC stood with Governor Bob Ferguson and community leaders at the Washington State Capitol as three bills were signed into law to strengthen protections for immigrant communities.

This moment reflects what’s possible when community members, advocates, and partners come together and keep pushing for change. We’re deeply grateful to Governor Ferguson, legislative leaders, and the many community advocates whose leadership, partnership, and persistence helped make this progress possible.

03/29/2026

The ACRS Food Bank supports our older neighbors and most vulnerable community members by providing nutritious, healthy food for families in need. When you support Walk for Rice, you’re helping ensure no one in our community goes hungry.

Join us on Saturday, May 16. There’s still time to be part of the impact—donate or sign up today at walkforrice.org!

03/27/2026

Everything is better with friends — and Walk for Rice is no exception! 💛

Gather your team and make a difference together while supporting the ACRS Food Bank. Encourage and inspire each other while helping provide nutritious, culturally familiar foods to neighbors across our region who need it most.

Make it fun and meaningful — plan costumes, host a bake sale, organize a car wash, or come up with your own creative way to fundraise!

Join us on Saturday, May 16 at Seward Park and start building your team today.

Learn more and sign up: walkforrice.org

03/24/2026

Do you love connecting with people?

Join us as a Registration Volunteer (www.bit.ly/WFRVOLUNTEER) at Walk for Rice 2026 and be at the heart of the action.

Registration is the nerve center of the event: you'll welcome guests, manage incentives, and help log new donations as the energy builds around you. If you're friendly, detail-oriented, and thrive in a busy, upbeat environment, we'd love to have you on the team.

Sign up to volunteer: www.bit.ly/WFRVOLUNTEER.

03/24/2026

We’re excited to announce Thrive360, a new partnership between ACRS and Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) to strengthen the connection between community-based care and national policy and advocacy for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.

Thrive360 creates a stronger pathway for community voice and lived experience to shape policy — and for policy solutions to create real, on-the-ground impact.

“Thrive360 strengthens what we know works: bringing community voice and lived experience into the systems and policies that shape health,” said Kendee Yamaguchi, ACRS CEO.

Together, we’re advancing health equity, elevating community voice, and building stronger systems of care.

03/23/2026

For many immigrant families, food support is not always accessible — but community can help fill the gap. The ACRS Food Bank provides nutritious, culturally familiar food to people who need it most.

Join us for Walk for Rice on Saturday, May 16 at Seward Park and help make a difference for our neighbors and families across our community.

Register now at walkforrice.org.

03/21/2026

Spring is officially here — and it’s the perfect time to spring into action for our community

Join Walk for Rice and help raise funds for the ACRS Food Bank, which provides nutritious, culturally familiar foods to our most vulnerable community members who need it most.

We’d love to have you walk with us on Saturday, May 16. Sign up today and join us.

walkforrice.org

03/20/2026

Food costs are rising fast — and at the ACRS Food Bank, that means every dollar goes less far than it used to.

A case of green onions that cost $26.40 in March 2025 jumped to $60 by January 2026. Red peppers rose from $27.50 a case to $48.75.

At the same time, more families are turning to ACRS for help. In 2025, the ACRS Food Bank and nutrition programs saw a 16% increase in people served and a 10% increase in visits compared to the year before.

Last year, ACRS distributed nearly 1 million pounds of food, provided more than 28,000 emergency meals, and increased produce harvested at our community farm by 25%.

But as household budgets tighten and supports like SNAP become less dependable, the need continues to grow.

Your donation to Walk for Rice will help us purchase more of the culturally familiar foods our communities rely on — rice, tofu, noodles, canned fish, fresh produce, and more.

Donate now or start a Walk for Rice fundraiser and help make sure no one in our community goes hungry.

walkforrice.org

Walk for Rice supports the ACRS Food Bank, helping provide culturally familiar foods to Asian, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and other underserved community members experiencing food insecurity. Every step makes a difference!

03/19/2026

With the 2026 Legislative Session coming to a close last week, APIC is excited to host an ONLINE Legislative Session Debrief on April 1st at 3pm!

Register here: www.tinyurl.com/2026legislativedebrief

We’ve been advocating all session for bills and budget asks that support A&NH/PI and other vulnerable communities - come learn how the APIC priorities and solidarity items fared at the close of session. We’ve had some historic wins, and as always some difficult losses, but there is always much to learn from one another as our fight continues.

Come join us virtually on April 1st at 3pm as we recap with community leaders and state electeds - and hope to hear from you as well! Don’t forget to register here: www.tinyurl.com/2026legislativedebrief

Hope to see you there!