About Teen Feed
Our Mission:
Teen Feed works with the community to offer support to meet basic needs, build strong relationships, and ally with homeless youth as they meet their future off the streets.
With the tremendous support of the community, Teen Feed responds to the most basic needs of homeless youth with three programs: Teen Feed, Street Talk Outreach Program (STOP), and Service Links for Youth (SLY).
Our History:
In 1986, nurses from the University of Washington Medical Center noticed that many street youth accessing the emergency room were severely malnourished. The community responded, and faith groups, service providers, and neighbors came together to provide food to the University District’s homeless youth population. Teen Feed was born, and now we average 40-50 guests each evening. Teen Feed is the only provider of meals specifically to youth and young adults in the University District open regularly every night of the week.
Our Core Values:
- All people are entitled to the basic human rights of health, safety, and self determination.
- We work to foster a sense of mutual respect with our clients. We recognize the autonomy of the youth we serve and respect their values and judgment.
- The young people we serve have the right to impart meaningful input to Teen Feed and our programs.
- We build and nurture relationships through consistency, trust, and mutual accountability.
- Homelessness is not a reflection of the merits of one’s character. We are all people of equal value; any of us could be in the same situation as the people we serve.
An introduction to the lives of Seattle’s street kids can be found by watching Kids on the Ave, a documentary filmed for Teen Feed in 1996.
To obtain a full version of the video on DVD, please contact the executive director.
