Wow! That is the word I would use to describe the new FareStart Restaurant at Seventh Avenue and Virginia Street in Seattle, Washington. Not solely because of the amazing building renovation resulting from a three-year fundraising campaign, but because every penny spent prepares homeless and disadvantaged men and women for jobs in the foodservice industry.

FareStart’s comprehensive training approach works to build a strong foundation and support system for every student who passes through the doors.  At FareStart, food is the tool that empowers lives, nourishes families and builds communities.  For over 14 years FareStart has provided nutritious meals to those in need and helped homeless and disadvantaged men, women and their families create new opportunities for the future.  To date, FareStart has provided over 2,250,000 meals to the Seattle community and has helped transformed over 1,500 lives through our comprehensive job training and placement program.

In addition to the comprehensive training and social services programs, FareStart runs five businesses that provide critical, real-life training opportunities for FareStart students. Presently, the FareStart kitchen produces up 2500 meals a day. Many people are not aware that up to 40% of FareStart’s operating budget comes from the revenues earned by FareStart’s own businesses.

Some may say I am a little biased (as the current Board Chair for FareStart) but we at Farestart realize the tremendous gift our supporters have given the organization.  All efforts are now focused on using this fantastic facility to leverage our mission….to the students who, when they come into the program, have committed to creating a new productive life for themselves.  We are dedicated to discovering how to maximize the services that can be offered to this community with this enormous gift. 

So, I will close by inviting you all to visit our new restaurant for lunch or Guest Chef Night, but make sure to visit the website – www.farestart.org – to learn more about this wonderful organization.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 6th, 2007 at 9:35 pm and is filed under All Firm. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.