Job skills alone can’t always solve unemployment challenges. Along with a willingness to work, people need support to find jobs and flourish in the workplace. FareStart, a Seattle-based nonprofit, operates on the belief that career success requires both: skills and support. 

Who is FareStart? 

FareStart’s origins date back to 1987 when Chef David Lee founded Common Meals, a nonprofit that prepared food for homeless shelters. In 1992, Common Meals changed its name to FareStart and its focus to job training for homeless and other disadvantaged people. In 2011, the James Beard Foundation named FareStart the Humanitarian of the Year.

For over thirty years this nonprofit has run classrooms that change lives by providing skills students can use to find jobs in the food industry and escape economic hardship. FareStart is fueled by the idea that it’s possible to help people enter the workforce while also nourishing the local community. 

Collectively, FareStart’s teachers hold 30 years of industry expertise, which they share with nonprofits via consultations to help improve job training programs across the country. 

FareStart’s Mission

FareStart works to end employment instability and create economic mobility for Seattle residents who enroll in their classes. 

The organization equips each participant with the skills to secure careers in the food industry, like Damian, a lifelong cook and FareStart graduate who helped create a menu of Cuban food for this group capstone project. 

His journey into the program wasn’t smooth. He first learned about the nonprofit in 2013 but struggled with incarceration and addiction for many years until he could enroll twelve years later, in 2025.

After graduating from FareStart, Damian found a job at the Little Jay bakery in the South Park neighborhood. In addition to culinary skills, FareStart prepared him for work with case management, life coaching, and a community of people devoted to his success. 

With commitments to antiracism, growth, collaboration, respect, and openness, FareStart has created a culture that people want to return to. Damian hopes to return to the nonprofit as an employee. “I really want to come back and work at FareStart,” he says. “That’s my goal.”

Who FareStart Serves

FareStart believes that everyone deserves to thrive. Their own mission statement says that FareStart transforms lives, disrupts poverty, and nourishes communities through food, life skills, and job training. 

The organization has prepared 20 million meals for local shelters, schools, and nonprofits, and they worked across the United States and Canada to consult with over 350 organizations to strengthen nation-wide job training programs. Nearly 8,000 King County youth and adults have taken FareStart classes, with 68% securing jobs in the food industry within three months of graduation. 

Benjamin is one such person, though he wasn’t always so fortunate. This time last year, he was homeless in Olympia, Washington, refusing help from everyone who offered, until he entered treatment at the Salvation Army, where he learned about FareStart. 

“FareStart was the bridge I needed between drug treatment and the working world,” he said. “It built the confidence I needed to hold down a 9-to-5 while learning new skills.” 

FareStart’s Food Pathways Program helped him reach stability, but not without some struggles. His first week, he missed a couple days due to a cold and personal challenges, but he found a supportive environment at FareStart. “They all supported me with love,” he said. 

After graduating from the program, Benjamin accepted a part-time position at a catering business run by a FareStart graduate. He also found a job as a customer service associate at a Seattle-based Goodwill. “Things are coming together nicely, and FareStart had a big hand in it.”

What are FareStart’s Services? 

At FareStart, you can find life skills development, career coaching, case management, and job placement support. If you’re a high school student, you can earn class credits by participating in a FareStart program. 

Prospective participants can find a variety of programs and services that FareStart offers to address food insecurity, including culinary and food-service training from the Food Pathways Program and the Barista and Customer Service Program, both of which teach students how to make meals for the community in preparation for culinary careers.

Seattle communities benefit from FareStart’s Community and School Meals Program. FareStart’s impact expands beyond Seattle because they assist other nonprofits and workforce development organizations via their consulting services, which have helped train over 58,000 people. 

By preparing meals that help the Seattle community thrive, FareStart participants also assist in decreasing homelessness, incarceration, and public reliance on food benefits. FareStart’s current public-facing work involves adult employment programs, donor campaigns, career support, and volunteer opportunities. 

Why FareStart Matters 

For most people, stable employment is a necessary aspect of a healthy life, but it’s common for people to face barriers to finding and maintaining jobs. FareStart equips disadvantaged Seattleites with skills and work experience, so they can decrease their community’s hunger while building their resumes. 

FareStart provides for all of the United States and much of Canada. If you’d like to learn more about this vital nonprofit, visit their website. You can also call them at 206.443.1233 or follow them on your preferred social media platform to learn more. FareStart accepts donations and volunteers.