Our Mission

Women & Children's Free Restaurant & Community Kitchen is a vital safety net that fills nutritional gaps for women and children in need while fostering dignity and respect, both within our restaurant and in the community.

Who We Serve

All women and children (boys up to age 19) are welcome at our restaurant. Many diners are single mothers who work or go to school. Often, they struggle to put nutritious meals on the table seven days a week. Some diners are senior citizens, disabled, have compromised health or are underemployed women who simply cannot make ends meet.

Programs

Restaurant Meals

Women and children are greeted, seated and served nutritious restaurant-style meals by our gracious team of staff and volunteers. We focus on healthy ingredients and creating a sense of community. Our diners are not asked to pay or qualify to receive our services.

Nutrition-to-Go

We broaden our reach to those in need with the help of partner agencies. Nutritious meals are prepared in our kitchen and distributed to women and children in the community through our partner organizations such as Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery, Hope House, St. Margaret's Shelter, Transitions, Ronald McDonald House Charities, YWCA and Feed Cheney.

Nutrition Essentials

This education program equips women and children with knowledge and resources to improve their overall health and reduce the risk of obesity an diabetes. Support includes cooking workshops, recipes, fresh ingredients, and goal-setting for women's health and for their families

Our Generous Sponsors

About Us

WCFR serves nutritious restaurant-style meals three times weekly, provides healthy meals to 28 other local nonprofit programs in our community, and offers a weekly nutrition education class. Our partner agencies provide services such as job training, homeless shelters, domestic violence assistance, child care, after school programs, and support for youths. This unique collaboration connects our most vulnerable citizens with basic needs to improve their quality of life.

Safety, dignity, self-sufficiency and mutual respect are key components of our services. We’re committed to helping create a strong and vibrant community and future. Food insecurity is defined as having unreliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. In Spokane County, this problem affects at least 73,000 people – fully 15% of our residents and about 1 out of 4 children (USDA 2013). We leverage 50 tons of donated food and 11,000 volunteer hours annually to provide our services. We operate with a small staff of 7 and 150 volunteers.