About Us
Community Lunch on Capitol Hill provides hot, nutritious meals and survival services to hundreds of homeless and low-income people in Seattle. We welcome them as our guests in an atmosphere of hospitality, comfort and support. By sharing meals five times each week, we create community together. Meals are open to all, and no sign-in is required.
Meals are created hot and fresh in our kitchen from community food donations by our team of volunteers and staff. We distribute the lunch to each guest in a to-go container with plenty of additional goodies such as fruit, dessert, or a canned beverage. Guests can either stay and eat, or take their goods with them.
Depending on the day, additional services maybe available during the meal such as voter registration, vaccinations, or case and outreach workers.
Impact
In a time of dwindling budgets and high unemployment rates, the need for free and healthy meals and survival resources is undeniably urgent. We are on average serving 200 meals per day.
The scope of our impact relies on the generosity of our volunteers and donors. Without them, it would be impossible to respond to the immediate needs of those whose lives are filled with unpredictability. By committing their time, resources and expertise, our staff and volunteers work to alleviate hunger and homelessness in Washington state by offering a dependable and safe place for Seattle's most vulnerable population.
Diversity And Inclusion
Community Lunch on Capitol Hill is dedicated to building a diverse and welcoming community through focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of our work. Our dedication to equity manifests itself in specific ways such as:
We do not require documentation for access. Everyone is welcome to receive the services offered by Community Lunch.
We are consistently strengthening collaboration and relationships with other organizations in the community to ensure wide-reaching access to services. We partner with organizations to get food and services out to people who cannot come to us to ensure we reach everyone who wants to be a part of Community Lunch.
We are committed to hiring and having personnel policies free from bias and discrimination.
We provide a welcoming atmosphere marked by respect and community.
We offer health insurance to our full-time employees.
We cook meals relevant to dietary and nutritional needs and preferences of the community we serve.
We conduct regular surveys asking our guests for anonymous feedback on the quality of our services and how we can improve to better meet their needs. We strive to conduct and provide these surveys in our guests’ preferred language.
We understand this is a continuous improvement process and we are committed to ongoing anti-racism and equity training for the board of directors, staff, and volunteers.