feeding south oc

Welcome INN is an all-volunteer organization made up of over forty teams comprised of over 300 individuals who provide a meal 365 days per year to those people who are food-insecure in the Southern Orange County area, primarily in San Clemente, Dana Point, and San Juan Capistrano.  These groups are composed of church groups, neighborhood friends, and sports groups.  Our mission statement reads:

“Empowered by the Christian imperative to feed the hungry, it is the mission of Welcome INN (Interfaith Needs Network) a purely volunteer organization, to prepare and serve, to the degree that our resources will allow, at least one nutritious meal a day for the hungry persons in South Orange County, California.  Without distinction or judgement, Welcome INN, in concert with other community groups, is a responsible partner uniquely responding to neighbors in need”

There are a couple of scenarios of the history of Welcome INN.  One is that around 35 to 40 years ago, an elderly parishioner, Jim Huben, had just left San Felipe de Jesus Catholic Church in Capistrano Beach.  He saw a homeless man and offered him one of his sandwiches, which was gratefully accepted. Jim then spent several hours observing the homeless and working poor who gathered around the Church grounds seeking refuge and food.  Soon a small group, including Jim, formed to serve sandwiches once a week at the small church.  As the ministry grew and others got involved, the group started serving meals on other days as well.

Another iteration of the story is that a young man was being driven to school in San Juan Capistrano and he saw a homeless man begging at the corner.  He offered him his school lunch which the man accepted, and the seed was planted for his becoming a driving force in the process to organize food delivery to those in need.

In any case the organization started from a grass-roots desire to be of help to those in need and has continued for several decades and grew into an organization of sufficient size and complexity to warrant becoming a 501c3 non-profit group on April 6, 2006

Welcome INN does not discriminate.  We offer a meal to anyone who comes to our table, regardless of economic status.  If you’re hungry and need food, we’re happy to provide it to you.  Many of our guests are homeless and suffer from addiction and mental illness.  Others are the working poor who may be day laborers barely able to make enough money to have shelter.  By giving them a free meal every day, they are able to stretch their meager income to keep a roof over their head.  Other people have had a temporary setback due to losing a job or income, and need a temporary assist until they get back on their feet.  We have had many guests who consistently came to our dinners for a period of time during which they were out of work.  They let us know that having a meal provided to them everyday gave them the strength to keep going until they were able to find a job

Empowered by the Christian imperative to “feed the hungry,” it is the mission of Welcome INN (Interfaith Needs Network), a purely volunteer organization, to prepare and serve, to the degree that our resources will allow, at least one nutritious meal a day for hungry persons in South Orange County,California.  Without distinction or judgement, Welcome INN in concert with other community groups, is a responsible partner uniquely responding to neighbors in need.