Our Story
Four Roots was founded in 2021 by women and women-Veterans, headquartered in Spokane Washington. We revitalize and reconnect the food system by providing an effective and direct year-round sales channel for Eastern Washington’s farmers and producers to sell their products. We receive, store, and distribute their healthy, locally grown food goods to food banks, schools, and nonprofits through emergency food contracts backed by the government.
In the next year, we have plans to expand our food sales to the Department of Defense (DOD) and Educational School District 101, getting our nutritious, local food onto the plates of American heroes and our region’s youth. Bringing community food to tables across the region, our strategic plan (and a large reason for the “four” in our name) involves Four Roots’ ultimately establishing four sites across Washington State, with each site celebrating the roots of our company, and our mission: Food, Farm, Market, and Community.
We believe these Roots are cornerstones of a thriving community, consisting of a healthy economy; regenerative farming that grows food for its local residents; the restoration of human vitality through ready and reliable access of fresh, healthy, and organically grown food; and healing the environment with sustainable agricultural practices that respect the soil, water systems, humans, animals, and plants that share the same ecosystems.
Our flagship Food Box program sources food directly from Washington farmers, boxes and then distributes 3,500-4,000 food boxes to 17 hunger relief organizations across 14 Eastern Washington Counties each week, ensuring households have reliable access to nutritious food that is grown here, in our region.
Our Vision
We envision for the future a thriving, connected region for Eastern Washington that values and cultivates a sustainable, equitable, and prosperous food system. We believe that a viable food system:
-
Ensures stewardship of environmental resources while planting, growing, and harvesting food. Our basic human need to consume whole, nutrient-dense foods should add to – rather than take away from – the abundance of the earth’s natural resources.
-
Ensures all people have equal access to participate in the food system as consumers, producers, and supporters and can do so in a healthy, equitable, and culturally relevant manner.
-
Connects Eastern Washington’s communities, and supports the multi-directional transport of regionally produced food between farmers and consumers in our region, including those in rural, outlying, and tribal communities.
-
Provides viable economic opportunities throughout all levels of the food system, and ensures family farmers can make a profitable living while feeding their community. Funds are reinvested in the economies of the communities we call home, and propel neighborhood revitalization.
Our Values
We uphold the above-mentioned vision by ensuring our team members, partners, and farmers/producers both share and demonstrate Four Roots’ values in their everyday practices.
-
Dignity – by treating those we serve, partner, and work with nobility, honor, and respect in our actions, words, and intentions.
-
Equity – acknowledging and accounting for the differences in each individuals’ “starting point” when pursuing a goal or achievement, and working to remove barriers to equal opportunity. We do this by going the extra mile to target our outreach, services, and programs to reach the communities, producers, and individuals who are currently underserved (or completely unserved) in our region.
-
Inclusion – we work to include and integrate all people and groups in our activities, programs, and planning processes, especially those who are disadvantaged, have suffered discrimination, or are living with disabilities.
-
Locality – by placing a preference on sourcing food and food goods from the farmers and producers who call Eastern Washington home, defined as the geographic terrain east of the Cascade Mountain range to the west and the Idaho state border to the east, up to the Canadian border, and down to Oregon. Food travels the least amount of miles, and funds stay in our area.
-
Stewardship to the environment, to the communities and members of the communities we serve, and to those who fund our programs and operations with responsibility, accountability, and action. Our company employs food loss and waste reduction practices, which includes a dedicated composting area at our facility; donating products to local farmers for livestock consumption; proper product rotation and storage, and purchasing directly from local producers and farmers – to help ensure freshness, as well as as the shortest amount of time and distance from producer to end-user – resulting in increased product quality and reduced food waste.
Meet The CEOs
Brittany Tyler,
Veteran, USN
CEO/Chief Operations Officer
Restaurant management/food production and service
Emergency food box program Management/sourcing and sales
Elementary and group education
B.A. Hospitality Management
AA Baking and Pastry
AA Chinese Studies
Lisette Walser,
Owner, Upwords, LLC
CEO/Development Director
Certified Pre-Award Research Administrator
Administrators Certification Council
Non-profit management, grant and contract procurement and execution
B.A. Psychology, Health Science
M.S. Health Promotion