OSL is a nonprofit that serves meals that are nutrient dense, culturally relevant, and medically sensitive,
to those who struggle with hunger in our community.
We are instrumental in advocating, supporting, and creating an equitable food system for all.
Ending HUnger,
One Meal at a Time
help us continue this work
OSL is excited to share that we will be moving into our own kitchen after working 34 years in hosted kitchens.
Renovations will be made to a 13,000 square foot warehouse space in Seattle, allowing all of our meal production to come out
of one large commercial kitchen, instead of our current 6 hosted small kitchens.
The build-out will also include frozen, cold and dry storage, and we will be purchasing the additional kitchen
equipment needed. Your support will help us to make this project a success!
Our fundraising goal to purchase all the kitchen equipment needed is $600,000!
Looking for OTHER ways to help? Please consider purchasing items from our Amazon wish list.
We are always thankful for your donations!!
Our Mission
“To provide dignity, care and compassion through action,
with the example that each person can make a difference.
To educate and advocate acceptance and understanding of each other’s differences.
To ultimately bring about the realization that we are all a vital part
of this world and with extended effort put an end to homelessness, hunger and hatred."
Executive Director, Beverly Graham serving meals on Thanksgiving at City Hall with our Mobile Meal Kitchen
2023 Annual Report
Working under the radar, with no fanfare, pedal to the metal, in 2023, OSL prepared, delivered, and served more than 1.3 million no-cost, nutrient dense, culturally relevant, meals to those needing nutritional assistance in Seattle and King County. Because of funding cuts it was necessary for OSL to drop more than 900,000 meals from Seattle’s Emergency Meal System.
We are currently serving 6800 meals daily.
In 2023 we served meals to 63 programs; including, but not limited to: shelters and transitional shelter programs, permanent housing support, youth and children’s programs, homeless veteran programs, City sanctioned encampments and tiny house villages, the no-barrier OPEN MEAL SITE, senior adult programs, day programs needing nutritional support, and several others.
The dedicated OSL staff prepared, delivered, served, and redistributed 1,953,207 pounds or 976.6 TONS of food and supplies to those struggling with hunger in Seattle, and the programs that serve their needs.
797,548 of those pounds were donated, procured and rescued through our Food In Motion (FIM) food recovery and redistribution program, from 42 rescue and donor partners: Valued conservatively at $3.99 per pound: $3,182,216.52
598,267 pounds came through our friends at Food Lifeline, TEFAP commodities, and City Bulk Buy. Valued conservatively at $3.99 per pound: $2,387,085.33
Food donations were down as food supply chain issues continued to affect our donated and recovered food supply. In 2023, OSL purchased more than 600,000 pounds of fresh produce, dry goods, and quality protein. Cost of protein, produce, eggs, and dry goods sky-rocketed in 2023. The cost to purchase meal ingredients, even at wholesale, is exorbitant.
In 2023, OSL shared and delivered an additional 691,937 donated or recovered pounds with/to 27 Meal Providers and Human Service agencies.
We reinstated our volunteer program after the COVID hiatus, hired a new volunteer coordinator, and our volunteer program is up and running again. We began slowly but we are now seeing groups as large as 30 volunteers! We welcome volunteers daily and we look forward to a robust volunteer program in 2024!
Total OSL administrative cost in 2023: $538,957.74 or only 4.93% of our total budget. We intend to build a more robust administrative department in 2024.
Total cost of the OSL service program in 2023: $10,392.36.
Total OSL expenditures in 2023: $10,943,281.28.