By Ruth Longoria

You won’t necessarily see her donning a chef’s hat, but Islander Molly Hancock has added another cap to her full head of hats by accepting the presidency of FareStart, an organization that provides culinary on-the-job training and services to the homeless of King County.

More than 2,000 meals are produced every day by the organization’s homeless students and paid staff. FareStart employs and empowers its participants through several restaurants and food services, including the FareStart Café in Seattle, 1902 Second Ave

The organization also runs the FareStart Library Café, which serves pastries, sandwiches, snacks and beverages from a cart at the Seattle Public Library, FareStart Catering, and FareStart Contract Meals, which provides meals to low-income child care programs, senior centers and homeless shelters around the Seattle area.

“FareStart is an amazing program that can change entire lives,” Hancock said. “I’m humbled to be a part of it.”

Hancock, 51, who has been involved with FareStart for about eight years, is director of operations for Torrefazione Italia, a subsidiary of Starbucks. She and her husband, Dave, have lived on Mercer Island for 10 years. The couple have a 15-year-old daughter who is a sophomore at Mercer Island High School.

Hancock holds a bachelor of arts degree in microbiology at the University of Washington, where she met her husband. They also worked together at a local restaurant.

After college, she began working for Mercer Island’s Consolidated Restaurants, where she moved up the ladder to manager, operations director and then vice president. She became chief operating officer in 1996. She left the company in 2000 to start her own consulting business, Hancock Consulting. Later she began working for Torrefazione Italia.

“I’ve spent my whole life in hospitality. I love the hospitality business,” Hancock said.

She credits her parents with her giving, hospitable nature.

“My mother and father were working people and very charitable,” Hancock said.

She tells a story of walking in Seattle with her mother about 10 years ago. A homeless man approached them and Hancock moved between her mom and the man, in an effort to shield her from his request for money.

“My mom walked around me and practically chased after the man to give him some money,” she said. “I asked her if she knew that he’d probably go buy alcohol with the money. And she said, `What I’m concerned with is that he has the ability to have a meal. What he does after he gets the money is his responsibility.’ That was such a humbling experience. I wanted to protect her, but she knew better than I did. It all came together for me then.”

Hancock does triathlons,and is a member of the Congregational Church of Mercer Island, where she volunteers with the youth programs.

She also is a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier, the Seattle chapter of an International women’s organization that raises money for scholarships for women in the food service industry.

Hancock became involved in FareStart after she met Martin.. Martin was an intelligent man with a wife and child, but he was addicted to crack cocaine. He wandered into FareStart one day, hungry. He later became a student in the program. He graduated and works at the Union Square Grill.

“He’s a real success story There’s a recovery rate of less than five percent for people addicted to crack cocaine,” she said.

Hancock has seen many success stories, such as Martin, she said.

“There’s such a diverse group of people who graduate from here. We have an incredible success rate — 80 percent of graduates are placed in a job within two months, and of those, 90 percent are still employed a year later,” Hancock said as she pointed at dozens of framed pictures of FareStart graduates displayed on a wall of the FareStart Café.

In the FareStart kitchen at the café, students work five days a week, preparing thousands of meals.

Rock Batie, 37, is a FareStart chef instructor. Batie came to work for the FareStart program in April 2003 after attending culinary school and working in several area restaurants.

“This is a great program and it has been a huge teaching experience for me,” Batie said.

Peter Tudor, 49, of Seattle, is the FareStart interim kitchen manager.

“A prayer was answered when I got this job,” Tudor said.

Hancock’s work with FareStart is appreciated, Tudor said.

“She’s involved in so much,” Tudor said. “She’s been an immense help to us.”

FareStart Executive Director Megan Karch agrees.

In addition to helping provide overall direction for the organization, Hancock is heavily involved in helping to raise the $8 million needed to pay for a new building FareStart recently purchased. The building, at 2004 Westlake Ave., will enable the group to accept more students into the program. Last year, about 300 students were turned away.

“Molly’s work with the capital campaign fund has been a huge success so far,” Karch said. More than $5 million has already been raised.

“We are extremely fortunate to have Molly as our president-elect,” Karch said. “She’s exactly what we need: Someone with a passion and a mission — that’s Molly.”