Last year was a big year for hometown favorite FareStart, as the organization won the James Beard Foundation “Humanitarian of the Year” award.

The festivities continue this year as FareStart celebrates its twentieth anniversary, and the public’s invited to join in by attending the June 9 Anniversary Bash at Fremont Studios.

FareStart is worth celebrating. Over the past twenty years, the organization’s job training and placement program for homeless and disadvantaged individuals has provided opportunities for nearly 6,000 people to transform their lives. At the same time, FareStart has served over 5 million meals to disadvantaged men, women, and children–including 589,463 meals in 2011 alone.

FareStart also feeds the general public. Guest Chef Nights are extremely popular; that’s not surprising, since you can enjoy three-course meals from some of Seattle’s best chefs (who work with FareStart students to prepare the meal) for $29.95. There’s also lunch service at FareStart, with a menu that offers sandwiches, salads, and a variety of specials.

The 20th Anniversary Bash is a fantastic way to get to know FareStart and support the efforts. It’s replacing Guest Chef on the Waterfront this year (sadly, Lamb Jam and Cochon 555 are skipping out on Seattle for the year as well), and will feature a night of fabulous food, drinks, and entertainment.  In celebrating the twentieth, 20 local chefs will be preparing dishes, so look for treats from Skillet’s Joshua Henderson and Brian O’Connor, Lark’s Johnathan Sundstrom, and Tom Douglas’ (!) Tom Douglas. Twenty local wineries and breweries will be on hand to pour, and there will be live music, prize-winning games, and cooking demonstrations.

Through May 9, early bird tickets are $92–a nod to FareStart’s founding year of 1992. After May 9, the price increases to $120. Tickets are available online through FareStart.