6,363,646 meals served since 1951.  Because of you.

Food is vital.  Obviously, no one can live long without it, and when you give to the Union Gospel Mission, you are helping to feed people who would otherwise go hungry. Inarguably, a very good thing.

Beneath that most basic of all needs, however, is a host of others.  That’s why, to our kitchen staff, serving meals is about so much more than filling bellies.  It’s about hospitality and community.  It’s about showing respect and offering dignity.  It’s about good stewardship and creativity.  It’s about job training and doing work with excellence.

This article is devoted to a selection of quick glimpses into the generosity of our community and how God multiplies and expands what is given so that the poor and homeless might experience His love – in abundance!

$1.79 a meal
Last year alone, your contributions to the Union Gospel Mission enabled us to serve 235,714 meals to our community’s neediest men, women and children.  Because of the substantial food donations of individuals and businesses, each of those meals costs only $1.79 to prepare.

Curious about the quantity of food required to prepare nearly a quarter of a million meals a year?  A recent truckload from the Safeway warehouse brought 3,721 pounds of fresh corn, 1,160 pounds of apples, 270 pounds of cauliflower, 48 pounds of spinach and 45 pounds of salad mix. Similar loads arrive every week from Safeway and Food Services of America. Last year’s food drive brought in a total of 22,076 pounds of food, and our neighbor, Second Harvest, supplies the majority of our protein needs, as well as eggs, produce, cereal and more.

The kitchen staff works with what’s available to make each meal nutritionally sound and pleasing to the eye and palate.

Beyond Our Shelters
The quantities and types of food donated often leave us with more than we can use before it perishes. Therefore, the Union Gospel Mission distributes the excess to as many people in need as possible.  We share food with 32 smaller ministries.  Individuals who attend our Celebrate Recovery chapel services on Monday nights, many of whom are on limited incomes, receive groceries to help extend their food budgets – particularly helpful at the end of the month.  On a recent Monday night, seventy people were given milk, bread, and a variety of fresh produce.  Single-parent families and minimum-wage employees of the Union Gospel Mission also receive food baskets twice a month.

Off the Street
The Men’s Shelter serves lunch and dinner 365 days a year to anyone who is sober and non-disruptive. Anthony and Sunshine came to the Men’s Shelter for dinner on a holiday when most other ministries were not serving.  They both live on the street.  Sunshine has a Chihuahua from whom she cannot be parted, and Anthony dislikes living under anyone else’s rules.  Hence, they explained, shelter life is not for them.  Still, they were happy to get a free meal, and sometimes a free meal leads to more.

Scraps for Pork
Stale pastries, vegetable scraps, and occasionally spoiled dairy products go into a bin behind the Men’s Shelter which is picked up regularly by a pig farmer who gives the Mission a pig once a year in exchange.  Likewise, severely damaged bags of flour and other grains go into a bin for a rancher who returns the favor by donating sides of beef.

Commercial Kitchen Experience
As of October 1, the Mission is launching a Food Services Training School to give interested residents the opportunity to learn basic culinary skills in a commercial kitchen environment.  Classes will be taught on knife-handling, sanitation and safety, nutrition, cooking times and temperatures, portion control, recipe conversion, cost management, and the chemistry of cooking.

In order to give students a breadth of experience, the school is also partnering with One World Spokane, a restaurant with a twist on East Sprague.  One World serves people regardless of their ability to pay.  Customers eat, then pay what they can.  Students from the Mission’s training school will be guest chefs at One World once a month.  They will plan menus around a theme, create pleasing presentations, and learn how to store and transport food according to health department regulations.

City-Wide Thanksgiving Dinner sponsored by the Union Gospel Mission
This year, in an effort to make sure that no one misses out on the traditional turkey feast, the Union Gospel Mission is sponsoring a City-Wide Thanksgiving Dinner for the poor and homeless.  To accommodate the increased numbers, the event will be held at the Spokane Convention Center on Wednesday, November 24, with meals served at 2 p.m. at 6 p.m.

Volunteers
For many of our volunteers, serving a meal is their first experience at the Mission – their first personal interaction with people who are homeless. Most are pleasantly surprised:  “Serving dinner has definitely changed my view of homelessness,” said Heidi, a college student. “It has really put a face on the issue.”

Something Deeper
Michael, who recently graduated from Freedom Bound, our men’s recovery program, is now serving as a trainee in the kitchen.  Read his story of life transformation and why he loves what he does.