PNA : Programs: Soup Kitchen

Soup Kitchens Provide Relief

The Phinney Neighborhood Association operates a soup kitchen serving 150-200 hot meals three times weekly. All are welcome.

Lunch is served at noon on Mondays at Crown Lutheran Church, 1501 NW 90th Street on the #15 bus line, just south of Whitman Middle School. Thank you to our partner, the Compass Housing Alliance, who owns and manages this property.

Tuesday dinner and Wednesday lunch are provided at the St. John United Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall, 5515 Phinney Ave. N. Doors open Tuesdays at 4 p.m. for coffee and pastries, with dinner served from 5-6 p.m. Wednesdays doors open at 11 a.m., with lunch served from noon to 1 p.m.

Volunteers are needed to help with preparation, cooking, serving and clean-up. Lunch volunteers begin at 10 a.m. and finish by 1 p.m. Tuesday dinner volunteers begin prep work at 3 p.m. and continue until about 7 p.m. We generally ask that you put in 2 hours within this block of time. We regret that our program cannot accommodate groups of volunteers or children under the age of 8.Work varies weekly according to the menu and number of helpers available, so flexibility and good humor are essential volunteer characteristics!

We do not serve meals on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day. Most feeding programs are overwhelmed with potential volunteers at this time of the year and are unable to accommodate all of the requests to help. Please consider donating food or money instead of time during the holiday season. Please call (206) 783-2244 to coordinate your donation.

Individuals interested in becoming regular volunteers are asked to submit a Volunteer Application to alis@phinneycenter.org. She will provide you with the information you need to get started. If you expect to be a one-time volunteer only, you may drop in at either location during their open hours and speak to Michael Gregory, Soup Kitchen Coordinator. He directs the efforts for all soup kitchen volunteers.

PNA Parking Lot Hosts Produce for the People

Produce for the People, a joint project of Food Lifeline and Rotary's Operation First Harvest, is a program that supplies Seattle-area food banks with fresh, edible but unsalable produce rescued from local retailers and wholesalers. This fresh produce is distributed the same day to food banks via several redistribution sites, including one at the Phinney Neighborhood Center upper lot on Tuesday mornings.

For more information about Food Lifeline, check out their web site at http://www.foodlifeline.org. To find out about volunteer opportunities with Food Lifeline, contact Karen at 545-6600.

Another Way to Contribute:

Greenwood and Ballard Markets donate 1 per cent of the total of donated receipts to the PNA Those donations have been earmarked for the soup kitchen. However, for the next year they will be directed to the Greenwood Senior Center due to its greater need. Don't throw away your grocery store receipts from the Ballard and Greenwood Markets! Your purchases add up to a significant contribution to this program. You can drop off or mail your receipts to the Phinney Center, 6532 Phinney Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103.