We Are Grateful

As the holiday season approaches, we cannot help but reflect on this past year. We are grateful for our community’s steadfast support of our students, graduates, staff and volunteers through our virtual training programs, events like Guest Chef Night at Home and our annual Gala Auction, as well as our pilot community market and ongoing hunger relief work. With the generous support of our community, we are able to transform lives, disrupt poverty and nourish communities through food, life skills and job training.

So far in 2021, we have had 110 (and counting) students graduate from virtual versions of the Adult Culinary and Youth & Young Adult Barista programs. We have facilitated 80 job placements through an economic mobility lens. One Adult Culinary Program graduate says, “I am grateful to FareStart and my classmates. My classmates inspire me from what they have been through and their hard work shows through. Thank you FareStart for all of the knowledge you shared.” With our community’s help, we raised over $1.4 million during FareStart's 29th Annual Gala Auction.

This year we also expanded our partnerships with Black, Indigenous and people of color farms and our volunteers have gleaned, recovered and donated 407,378 pounds of excess food for use in our community meal programs, including preparing and delivering 1,620,999 meals this year. In 2021, roughly 1,406 volunteers joined us to help package and deliver meals, glean excess food, write letters to meal recipients and more.

As we approach the conclusion of 2021, we press forward. We remain focused on supporting our students through our virtual job training programs and wraparound support, on supporting our national programs, as well as on expanding and partnering with organizations that prioritize long-term economic mobility and personal stability. We also continue to address hunger in our communities through our food security work. 

In 2022, we celebrate FareStart’s 30th anniversary and our exciting work laid out in our 2022-2025 Strategic Plan. We anticipate the return of in-person training programs, as well as the re-launch of our FareStart Restaurant and FareStart Café in Beacon Hill. Thank you for your ongoing support and partnership, which helps us realize our mission and vision where every individual has the opportunity to thrive in an equitable and just world.

If you are interested in joining our mission, there are multiple ways to get involved. Your support through volunteering and donations directly impact FareStart's youth and adult students by helping them realize their dreams.