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On August 30,2001, the Church of the Nazarene, a
Sunday Volunteer based Meal Provider, shut their doors for good. The next Sunday our line increased by 400
people and now we serve 900 meals each Sunday.
OPERATION: Sack Lunch is now preparing more than 3,500 meals each week. We take care of Tent City, PSKS (Peace On The Streets By Kids From The Streets),and Angelines Day Center for homeless women. In a
recent count of Seattle's homeless population, it was
estimated that there are approximately 14,500 children, women, and men, on the streets on any given night. Last year the count was 8,000 to 10,000 people and we were serving 2400 meals a week. So the questions are, who are the  homeless? Where do they all come from? And why should I help them?

I guess I will start out with the cold hard reality that if our benefit event on December 7th at Benaroya Hall is not a success, Operation: Sack Lunch will be forced to close it's doors after thirteen years of service, not only to the homeless community who congregate in Seattle, but also to the greater community: schools, businesses, civic and faith based organizations who request our service for community building, awareness and proactive
involvement.

The homeless are people from all walks of life. There are those who are substance abusers, those who have been beaten and battered by an abusive partner, those who are mentally challenged, those who are the working poor, making minimum wage and can't afford the basics of life, those who are children and have no choice or voice, those who are teenagers and have no idea where to turn, and those who lost their jobs a month ago. Everyone knows someone, who knows someone who is, or was, or who will be homeless. They are us, and who among us wants to be judged for our lives and why or how we got there? What makes someone deserving of our help?

We are all born with the basic right to adequate nutrition. In Afghanistan or Bosnia, they can't meet that right, but in the United States we can, and we don't.

A couple of weeks ago a man came to the front of our line and said to Lynn, "You aren't going to like this but I need something". And just then all of the servers all got an overwhelming smell. The mentally challenged man had diarrhea and accidentally defecated in his pants. He needed help. He was mortified and so embarrassed. He told Lynn that he thought he needed a fish. She said "are you sure you don't mean you need money so you can clean up?" and He said "yes I need a fish". This man was not high or drunk but he was so confused that he could not even say what kind of help he needed. This man could not work or live in our mainstream world. Does he have the right to eat or should we just let him die on the street because he isn't valuable? Who is going to make that decision? For so many the world simply turns to fast, and they can't keep up.

OPERATION: Sack Lunch does not question whether a person is worthy or deserves to eat. We simply serve those who need us. We save lives and we give you the opportunity to participate in the saving of lives at the most basic level.