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P age IntroPara and Page IntroPara ital "Our signage will say Maslow by FareStart, and you can see what the programming is, but you'll feel like you're in a restaurant," says Karch. "On the menu it says that, and on the walls it talks about what we do. But we don't hit people over the head with it. We want people to come in and enjoy their time." Working Together to Feed the World Without partnerships, FareStart wouldn't be as successful as it has been, with over 90 percent of students getting jobs after graduation. From housing partners and mental health partners to a variety of restaurants that hire these graduates knowing the curriculum they were taught, collaborations with the community keep FareStart thriving. "We have a model that works," says Karch. "We know we have a model that can tackle the issues of homelessness and poverty in our region, and we have a lot of work nationally happening right now. This is training that happens in real businesses, with real applied training, and it's helping people to move forward." In 2010, FareStart launched Catalyst Kitchen, which helps to incubate and launch new programs like it across the country. Currently, Catalyst Kitchen has 55 members nationally, and has helped to launch 45 programs. "We can only succeed by partnering with others," says Karch. "We don't believe in going it alone." Transforming Lives Steven Burroughs came to FareStart as part of the conditions of his incarceration release. "If it were not for FareStart I would have been released homeless," says Burroughs, who graduated from FareStart's Adult Culinary Program last July. He works as a line cook at Portage Bay Cafe in Seattle with responsibilities including opening the restaurant twice a week and closing three times a week, in addition to fully training on all five stations on the line within six months of starting. "After being homeless and unemployed for so long, I had forgotten what it was like to be a working member of society," says Burroughs. "FareStart helped me reintegrate as a functioning, contributing member of my community. It helped me re-evaluate my goals and personal growth. I was able to find passion in the simple things in life like paying rent and buying my own groceries." Burroughs aspires to become a sous chef within the next year, and eventually open his own Italian-American restaurant. What's most uplifting for Karch is seeing students like Burroughs transform their lives into the one they want. "When they come in, I meet them, and they often don't look you in the eye, they feel less-than, or that they don't have value," she says. "When they graduate, they stand up straight, look me in the eye, and they see their own value. They're taking their life back." Gina Cucina: "Bowls for Souls" Program Supports Childhood Nutrition and Ending Human Trafficking Gina Cucina, a Colorado-based soup delivery company owned by entrepreneur and social activist Gina Stryker, is working with Truckers Against Trafficking with its "Bowls for Souls" initiative, asking that anyone who trucks Gina Cucina product or ingredients becomes certified on how to spot human traf- ficking. As a winner of the FedEx Small Business Grant in 2016, Stryker serves on FedEx's Entrepreneur Advisory Board, and with that partnership, Stryker was able to work with FedEx to train its f leet on how to spot human trafficking as well. In Colorado, Gina Cucina is working on legislation that would require that convicted traffickers be handed more substantial sentences. In Idaho, the company has involved the Lions Club, a group with a national platform, to raise awareness, and will be speaking at the Lions Convention where they will show a video about human trafficking and how to spot it. More Companies Making a Difference SPRING 2018 63