Wanting to donate to an organization making a difference this holiday season? The UUC Meal Team suggests giving to Teen Feed.

Teen Feed offers a radical kind of compassion and a critical safety net for homeless teens in our community through advocacy, case management, and street outreach. Teen Feed is focused on developing relationships that can prevent youth isolation and progression toward permanent homelessness. 

Two easy ways to help teens supported by Teen Feed:

• Donate items from Teen Feed’s Amazon wish list and have your items sent directly to Teen Feed. Select items and then choose “Teen Feed’s Gift Registry Address” at checkout.
• Make a financial contribution to Teen Feed. A donation to Teen Feed allows them to both continue their work and shop for many of the teens' basic needs, like socks, underwear, backpacks, gloves and rain jackets.

UUC has partnered with Teen Feed for over twenty years. Last Sunday, fourteen UUC Meal Team members were involved in preparing and serving dinner—chicken enchiladas, roasted broccoli and cauliflower, cheesy potatoes, sliced apples, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and lots of Molly Moon's ice cream. Over thirty teens circled round tables in the social hall at University Lutheran Church, and thirty-five more were delivered boxed dinners at the Roots Young Adult Shelter. This happens eighteen times each year, with over thirty from our UUC community gathering in groups of 14–16 to prepare and serve a meal to teens who are unhoused in the University District. These meals are a conduit for the Teen Feed staff to do their stuff—inviting conversation with teens who have found it difficult to trust adults in their lives. 

By the end of 2023, Teen Feed will have touched the lives of 400 young people with 21,000 meals and 7,532 outreach interactions on foot, using thousands of local volunteers to move youth to safety, stability and a future off the streets. Anything you choose to give will add to Teen Feed's capacity to support teens during this time of year. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Pam.