Women & Children’s Free Restaurant & Community Kitchen: Serving equity, nutrition in Spokane
Each year, more than 1 million meals are served out of a single kitchen in Spokane. It may seem impossible, but for the Women & Children’s Free Restaurant & Community Kitchen (WCFR), it’s a reality.
WCFR is a Spokane-based nonprofit that has provided low-barrier hunger relief for women and children since 1988. With a team of six full-time employees, including a head chef, and more than 400 volunteers, its single industrial kitchen turns out more than 1 million meals for local women and families each year.
In addition to precooked and packaged nutritious meals, recipients also take home boxes of fresh and nonperishable food to prepare themselves. Meals are distributed during curbside pickup events and through other nonprofits that WCFR partners with.
While the kitchen is at the root of all WCFR does, it’s the volunteers who make it all possible. From receiving and organizing food deliveries, to cleaning, prepping, cooking, packaging and delivering meals to several pickup locations, volunteers are a part of every aspect of the operation.
Watch the video to hear from the volunteers themselves and learn more about how WCFR is serving equity and nutrition to the women and children of Spokane.
What's next
- Find food access and support resources in your neighborhood
- Learn more about the MultiCare Community Partnership Fund
- Explore other stories from our communities
