The Monica Edwards Weblog

Last Thursday my sister invited me out to dinner with her and a girlfriend--girl’s night out--but as it happened, her husband stood in for the friend who could not make it last minute. We went to a restaurant in downtown Seattle called FareStart, not your typical restaurant in regards to where the night’s profits will end up. Not to the wonderfully friendly wait-staff, as they are all volunteers, or to the Guest Chef of the night, as he, or she also volunteers their time. This restaurant that serves lunch Monday through Friday and a special dinner on Thursday nights hosted by local top chefs is a haven for former homeless adults wanting to learn a trade as well as crucial life skills that will get them back out into the workforce, back out into their communities with renewed confidence in themselves.

FareStart says it best:

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.

FareStart provides a community that transforms lives by empowering homeless and disadvantaged men, women, and families to achieve self-sufficiency through life skills, job training, and employment in the food service industry.

Our vision is to rebuild lives, reconnect families and strengthen our diverse community.

- Experience the power of contributing, the gift of giving and the joy of helping through preparing and serving meals to our community.

- Build a self-sustaining organization through businesses that provide hands-on experience for students, financial support for our program, and a place for our community to grow.

- Nourish our community by collaborating with our partners to put an end to homelessness, one human being at a time.

- Empower each individual to achieve his or her highest potential by restoring hope, giving respect, nurturing self-confidence, granting trust, and creating opportunity.

The following values help us measure the appropriateness of our decisions:

ACCEPTANCE . Build relationships based on the belief that the past informs but does not dictate the future.

RESPECT. Hold unconditional positive regard for each other, treating all with respect and dignity.

OPENNESS. Provide an environment of open communication, honesty, acceptance and personal responsibility.

COLLABORATION. Contribute positively to strengthen the organization and the community through collaboration and innovation.

SUSTAINABILITY. Recognize that sound financial management and accountability are essential to the long-term health and sustainability of FareStart.

All that and a great meal...the appetizer was a scallop served atop creme fraiche--as I am partial to kosher foods, my sis and hubby partook in my scallop helping but the cream was heavenly...then the main course of salmon cooked to perfection with fingerling potatoes and a refreshing salad served atop the salmon was just the right portion to tickle the taste-buds. Following the main course was the yummiest dessert I have eaten in a long time, it was a pear tart drizzled with caramel honey--to die for, if only I could have had seconds.

We had great food at their beautiful new location and was able to witness a graduation of one of the students that was very heartwarming. This is such a great cause and I cannot say enough about them. They have a different guest chef every Thursday night, the menu is available online ahead of time, and reservations are needed, but well worth the wait. The dinner was $25 per person for a 3 course meal, drinks are extra, but most, if not all the food and drinks are donated by various businesses so that all of the proceeds can go back into training and the upkeep of the establishment. I saw that one of our friends was a sponsor for the meal, David Geller from WhatCounts, good for you David.

If you have a craving for something new, something different, go and help support your community by dining at FareStart, might as well give to a worthy cause while your tummy gets fat. They cater as well! Good to know for all you conference type people out there.