FareStart History

In 1988, David Lee, chef and entrepreneur, recognized a need to serve Seattle’s homeless and disadvantaged populations nutritious and culturally appropriate food. To that end, Lee founded FareStart (then called Common Meals), a for-profit business. In 1992, after four years of working out of church kitchens, Lee located a kitchen in the Josephinum Hotel that was large enough to meet his growing needs. Also at this time, he began to see the opportunity to train the homeless population he was serving, thereby “teaching a man to fish and feeding him for a lifetime.” And so he officially started a job training program, transforming FareStart into a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

In 2003, through a collaborative effort with YouthCare, FareStart launched the Barista Training and Education Program, which offers homeless, runaway, and street youth the opportunity to gain employable skills. During the 8-week Barista Program, students receive comprehensive classroom and on-the-job training as well as life skills support.

On February 1st, 2007 FareStart celebrated the long-awaited grand opening of its new facility at 7th and Virginia. With this new building, FareStart consolidated its operations under one roof, greatly improving its service to the community.

Today, FareStart offers an intensive 16-week program that prepares homeless and disadvantaged men and women for jobs in the food services industry. We currently serve more than 600 individuals a year, and more than 80% of program graduates secure living-wage employment in the food service and hospitality industry.