Today it is a stormy mid-November afternoon. The sky is dark with sheets of pounding rain, the trees, which were only kissing the ground an hour ago from gale force winds, are now crashing to the ground, and pulling up 10 foot root balls… On the streets of Seattle, people are walking through the buffeting winds, coat collars pulled up, umbrellas turning inside out, leaves and debris dancing around the feet; the power just flickered out… It is not easy to navigate this type of weather… for anyone. But for those, who, for whatever reason, live without shelter, safety, and warmth, it is frightening, and life threatening.

Seattle recently declared a State of Emergency on homelessness. Tents on street corners, under the freeway, in the downtown core, in the industrial district, people sleeping with no tents, on mats on the sidewalks, on benches, in doorways, families sleeping in cars…literally thousands of people without shelter. If someone does not have shelter, they also do not have food.

These are the people we serve; family, friends, children, women, men, elders; those who have been forgotten, displaced, or unnoticed. They are artists, welders, college graduates, grandmothers, fathers, sisters, daughters, foster care children cut loose on their 18th birthday. Some are damaged physically, some emotionally, some mentally. Some are not damaged at all, they simply lost their job, got too old to work, got kicked out and cut loose, got beat up by an abusive partner. Some contribute to their own difficulties, many do not. They are you and they are me. They need us!

Recently we hired a young man, a Chef who was sleeping outside by a school in West Seattle. He walked from West Seattle to downtown Seattle every day to use the hygiene center, wash his clothes, and look for work. He found us…OSL hired him. We changed his life…You changed his life! He is only one of the 24 current OSL staff members, all with amazing, heart-warming, and heart breaking stories.

OSL is currently serving 38,000 meals each month and our Food In Motion program is currently rescuing more than 55,000 pounds of quality proteins, produce, and dry goods each month. What we don't use for OSL, we pass on to more than 32 agencies in Seattle, turning our meal reach in the community into the millions.

Today, OSL is considered to be an integral part of an emergent equitable food system that serves our friends/community members/families who live without walls, water, or warmth. Without our work, radical compassion, and indeed, love, thousands of people would go hungry each year. Without you, we cannot do this work. Please consider a generous end-of-the-year donation to OSL.

Each day, through your gift, OSL continues to nourish our community in so many ways. We are committed to Only Serving Love to those in need.