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| John Platt: making good food and dignity a matter of course.
Photo by Andrea Lee. |
Many of us struggle to make community service a regular and meaningful part of our lives. John Platt, co-owner of St. Clouds Restaurant in Madrona has found a way to link service and business by using his kitchen and his passion to feed hundreds of hungry people.
Once a month a group of volunteers —experienced cooks and novice vegetable choppers alike — gathers at his restaurant to cook up and deliver a gourmet meal to several Seattle shelters. Platt uses donations to buy the “central protein” of the meal, but beyond that, he has no idea what the volunteers will create.
When the program began in 2001, volunteers cooked for 75 people and walked the food to a nearby Tent City. Now they serve more than 250 people and are a model for other groups looking to serve. In spite of the growth, the sense of community and excitement among volunteers stays strong. So does the central mission, says Platt: “to provide an hour of dignity and some real food to people who may not get much of either.”
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