SEATTLE, Wash. — Seattle Union Gospel Mission employees and volunteers are spending their Thanksgiving providing a hot meal for 1,600 people.
This is their 92nd year of serving the unhoused community across Seattle.
Chef Dean Way was in the kitchen long before the sun rose, preparing thousands of eggs, hundreds of potatoes, and dozens of turkeys.
But his place wasn’t always inside the kitchen.
“I recognize what a meal can do for an individual,” Way said. “I came through our program 11 years ago, broken and on the losing side of a drug addiction. The mission saved my life, they shared the gospel and here we are 11 years later.”
Today, he is thankful for second chances.
“Every time I’m here it brings me back to a feeling that there is hope, there is light at the end of the tunnel I’m so grateful,” Way said.
He and the kitchen team are not only serving up this meal, but a message of kindness too.
Chef Marcos Duran said serving food at the Gospel Mission is his calling and he wants everyone to remember empathy is needed this time of year.
“They’re people. Same as you and I, same as everyone else, let them know they’re cared for and even a simple hello can go a long way for some people,” Duran said.
Donations are also welcomed and appreciated. They still need 400-500 more turkeys to get through the holiday season cooking. Officials tell us you can come by any day to drop off turkeys and other canned items at their six locations.
They are also looking for volunteers! Click here https://www.ugm.org/ to learn more about opportunities.