Shared Breakfast Volunteers and Supporters,
We hope that Fall has gotten off to a good start for you!
As of the end of September, we have served over 6000 meals since re-starting Shared Breakfast last November 15th. The number of meals served each Sunday have been steadily increasing to over 200.
Shared Breakfast now has two components: walk-up guests and meals delivered to shelters operated by Compass Housing. We started allowing walk-up guests to sit inside Fellowship Hall in early July. There wasn’t a huge demand for indoor seating during the summer months – approximately 20% of the walk-up guests came inside to eat their breakfast. But this number has been increasing as the weather has changed. And we have seen a significant increase in the number of walk-up guests – from an average of 48 in Q2 to an average of 80 during September and October.
And we have continued our partnership with Compass Housing and the King County Metro Access Van. Each Sunday morning, the King County Metro Access Van arrives at First Church around 8:15am for pick-up of the trays of eggs, biscuits and sausages for delivery to three different shelters in downtown Seattle. We regular prepare over 120 meals each Sunday for delivery to the shelters.
None of this would have been possible without your presence, prayers and financial support. Thank you!! And so far, we have been able to do all this while keeping all the volunteers and guests healthy – hurrah!
We will continue operating Shared Breakfast in Q4 the same manner: serving breakfast in take-out bags to walk-up guests while allowing up to 18 guests at a time to sit inside Fellowship Hall as well as preparing meals for the shelters operated by Compass Housing. We will continue to have 1 Security Shepherd stationed outside the church on Denny Way (whose primary responsibilities are to maintain appropriate social distancing between the guests, ensure that all guests put on their masks before receiving a take-out bag and doing COVID-19 health screenings for those guests who want to eat their breakfasts inside) and 1 Shepherd stationed inside Fellowship Hall. We will utilize 5 Food and Beverage Distribution Volunteers; 1 Lead Cook and 3 Assistant Cooks along with 1 Dishwasher.
If you are interested in volunteering for Shared Breakfast, please send an email to sharedbreakfast@firstchurchseattle.org
Sue Porter and Jim Schone
Co-chairsUrban Outreach CommitteeFirst United Methodist Church of Seattle