A Meal Leads to a
Changed Life Off the Streets

Ketchup Is No Longer Her Meal

Jodie* hasn’t said it since she came to the Mission, but before she got here, she not only said it, she felt it — literally. She was on the streets, hungry and cold, with nothing but the clothes on her back.

“I was out there crying and feeling like I was literally going to starve to death,” she says. “It was horrible.”

“There was one time where I went six days without food. I ate the ketchup packets because some places give those out free, just to get something in my stomach. It really hurts to be starving. Your stomach is just turning and you have no energy.”

Thankfully, Jodie found out about the Mission.

Now, thanks to friends like you, she doesn’t have to survive on ketchup packets. She’s gets real food — vegetables, fruit, grains and protein — everything as her body needs.

Jodie was also joined our recovery program. Around the Christmas holiday she’ll celebrate a year sober. That’s incredible when you consider she’s been using drugs and alcohol since she was five years old!

“This place is just amazing,” Jodie says.

Every day, the gifts of friends like you provide delicious, nourishing meals served with compassion and love to people like Jodie. And every day those meals help People Change Here.

You can help change another life today by giving a Thanksgiving meal. Each $2.05 feeds one person.

Addressing someone's hunger is the first step to change and to helping them get off the streets.

Homelessness. Hunger. Job Loss. Addiction.

The deep need in our community continue to increase. At times it's easy to feel like you can't make a difference. But you can.

Individually it's hard to make a big impact, but together we will make a difference, Ron's story is proof.

Number of area families going without enough food rises

“More people are seeking food assistance due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and a recent census survey shows food insecurity has doubled in King, Pierce, and Snohmish counties, where 1 out of 10 people now say they don't have enough food for the week.”

– KUOW 94.9

Aug 31, 2020

Washington hunger facts

  • WA is the 23rd hungriest state in the nation.
  • 1 in 5 children live in a household that struggles to put food on the table.
  • The majority of working-age Washingtonians who live in poverty are actively working or looking for work.
  • 1 in 5 Washingtonians rely on their local food bank.

– Snohomish County Food Bank Coalition

 

It Starts with a Meal But Becomes More