Dining out is out of reach for some members of the community who struggle to feed themselves, and at the same time, the food service industry itself can be a gateway into jobs and financial stability. Here are three of the kitchens in town that feed people and help them feed themselves.
Reality Kitchen is a local nonprofit that provides employment paths and job experiences for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in an inclusive setting for growth. Its large soft pretzels are a popular treat and its baked goods are found at eateries around town.
Through its Supported Employment Program, Reality Kitchen offers a blend of education and job training to give students the tools they need to follow their dreams. Some of the skills include food and kitchen safety, cooking techniques, customer service, cashiering and learning how to be a barista. Reality Kitchen provides job opportunities through its wholesale bakery and retail cafe.
“We are building a community where people of all experiences come together and share, learn and engage,” says Jim Evangelista, co-founder and executive director of Reality Kitchen. “We are changing the perspectives of our community about the employment options that are available to individuals with IDD, intellectual and developmental disabilities.”
These classes are open to individuals 18 to 25 years old, experiencing IDD, who are not already enrolled in transition services through their school district.
In the past, Reality Kitchen has provided hundreds of free meals a week, working in tandem with fellow nonprofits Carry It Forward and Burrito Brigade. Evangelista says in the last nine months, rising costs and staffing issues have prevented the nonprofit from providing those community resources.
Evangelista says, “We focus on food because everybody needs to eat, and everybody needs to be able to feed themselves in a consistent, healthy and safe way.”
He says that modeling those behaviors and teaching various skills empowers people and builds self-confidence, which is at the deep core of Reality Kitchen’s mission. The 13-year-old nonprofit is led by a board of 10 directors with diverse skills and expertise to keep “baking a difference,” as its website puts it.
“This has to keep going forward, and that means making important choices with the responsibilities that we manage, looking into the future,” Evangelista says. “That’s our commitment to the community, is to make sure that all the work that we’ve done together to establish and put this organization in place — that it’s here for the future, not just the present.”
In the next month, Reality Kitchen plans to open its first general store location on River Road, debuting a food preservation kitchen for pickling and canning. The nonprofit plans to resume distributing free meals to the community soon after opening as well, and reopen its bright blue pretzel wagon.
Find Reality Kitchen at 645 River Road, 10 am to 6 pm Thursday and Friday and 9 am to 2 pm Saturdays. 541-505-8867, RealityKitchen.org.
Since 2014, Burrito Brigade has provided over 300,000 free nutrition-dense, vegan meals to the community and still distributes around 600 to 650 burritos every weekend. The nonprofit is run by dozens of volunteers on a mission to mitigate the issue of food insecurity throughout Lane County, one burrito at a time. Its mobile business model helps reach the parts of the community directly in need.
On Saturdays, the nonprofit serves a tofu breakfast burrito with roasted veggies, and on Sundays, the Brigade serves up burritos filled with beans, rice, roasted veggies and salsa.
“The most rewarding thing is people telling me testimonials when they come in and say that their health has improved,” says Jennifer Denson, Burrito Brigade executive director.
The organization frequents spots like Washington Jefferson Park, St. Vincent de Paul’s First Place Family Center and Night Annex in south Eugene, and homeless camps dispersed throughout the community. Burrito Brigade also distributes via RAVEN, Radical Assistance for Vulnerable Eugene Neighbors.
One of Burrito Brigade’s programs, Waste to Taste, rescues thousands of pounds of food destined for landfill and reorganizes the items like a grocery store to allow people to come pick out their own food choices privately, based on appointment.
Burrito Brigade isn’t just a way to feed people a conveniently packaged meal. Denson says the organization is offering people a quality meal that some people experiencing homelessness wouldn’t be able to afford usually.
“The cool thing to watch with our program is people taking things that they might not otherwise try because of the price point,” she says. “Somebody getting to try some local kale or local chard or local tomatoes, because the price is not a factor.”
The nonprofit also offers delivery services for those who don’t have a car or aren’t able to pick up resources directly.
In addition, the nonprofit has placed over 50 Little Free Pantries in neighborhoods throughout the county that are restocked with fresh food weekly. The pantry motto is “Take what you need, give what you can.”
“We have volunteers that enjoy sorting weird produce, we have volunteers that enjoy making the burrito, so it’s such a community effort. We have so many awesome volunteers making this work, and it shows through them giving back to others,” Denson says.
Burrito Brigade’s services have expanded past the growth of the establishment they’re currently renting, so the nonprofit says it is buying a bigger building in the Whiteaker, on the intersection of First Avenue and Washington Street, at the beginning of 2026.
Find out more about Burrito Brigade at 1775 West 6th Avenue, 541-632-3239, BurritoBrigade.org.
The Eugene Mission Culinary Arts Training Kitchen is a classroom for teaching the cooking skills needed for sufficient living and demonstrates skills for a variety of culinary jobs. In addition to providing consistent meals, the program allows the Eugene Mission’s guests to learn with step-by-step instructions from experienced chefs.
Hazel Hemphill has been working at the Eugene Mission as one of the head chefs for three years and feeds hundreds of people a day.
“The Eugene Mission is a home for not only those on the street,” Hemphill says. “It is for people who are broken, drug addicts, people who come out of prison, people who lost their homes; they come here and get a second chance.”
The program helps people learn hospitality, how to serve food elegantly and provides opportunities for familial bonding through cooking new recipes.
The Eugene Mission serves breakfast, lunch and dinner with a variety of options for different preferences and dietary restrictions. They serve vegan, vegetarian and pork alternatives as well.
“Believe it or not, when I first started, I thought, ‘Oh, it’s just the Mission; they only serve, like, soup or bread’ because that’s what I’d see on TV. It’s not just soup and bread,” Hemphill says. “There are times I make salmon, I make hamburger, I make a big chicken. These people eat like they would in a restaurant. That’s how we feed them.”
Breakfast is 6:15 am to 7:15 am, lunch is from 11 am to noon, and dinner is from 6 pm to 7 pm. Anyone who comes in late can take pre-packaged leftovers to go. There is no limit on how many plates each person can get, as long as they are a guest at the Mission; they have full access.
“Nobody could ever go and say they’re still hungry,” Hemphill says. “There is something for everyone.”
The Eugene Mission accepts donations and distributes them as needed throughout the community. According to Sheryl Balthrop, executive director of the Eugene Mission, there are months when the Mission provides more than 120,310 surplus meals and over 60,000 pounds of surplus donated food worth more than $100,000.
The Mission supports Bethel School District, Head Start of Lane County, and Oakridge and Dexter Food Share, as those areas are considered food deserts without an abundance of grocery stores and accessible food options.
The Mission also hosts and serves lunch and breakfast to civic groups in the community, such as Twin Rivers Rotary Club, with china, linen and flowers on the table as well as the ability to host hybrid in-person/virtual meetings.
Eugene Mission’s Culinary Kitchen is 1542 West 1st Avenue. 541-344-3251, EugeneMission.org.