5 Ways DC Central Kitchen is Standing Up for Real Food

Saturday is Food Revolution Day and DC Central Kitchen is starting a food revolution right here in DC through groundbreaking programs. Here are five ways we’re standing up for healthy, nutritious food.

1. Serving Healthy Complete Meals to Partner Agencies
For the past few years, we have increased the share of unprepared donated produce and starches in our meals and have decreased the amount of processed/unhealthy food we serve (pizza and tater tots, for example). We’re working to make our shelter meals healthy and nutritious for clients who depend on them.

2. Serving Healthy Meals in DC Public Schools
By serving over 4,600 scratch cooked meals a day to students at 8 DC Public Schools, we’re breaking nutritional barriers and getting kids into healthy eating. We’re also teaching kids about where food comes from via the Truck Farm and providing cooking classes for parents and teachers. There are no deep fryers used in preparing these meals!

3. Using Local Produce for Fresh Start Catering
Last year, DCCK invested over $114,700 in local produce, supporting farmers and bringing fresh fruits and veggies to its catering social enterprise.

4. Delivering Fresh Produce to DC Corner Stores
Last year, we engaged nearly 10,000 DC Residents through outreach events to eat healthier and through Healthy Corners we’ve partnered with DC corner stores to deliver fresh fruits and veggies to low income neighborhoods in DC without access to fully stocked supermarkets.

5. Providing Nutritional Training to Culinary Job Training Students
We’ve built nutritional education into our Culinary Job Training Program and held our first Healthy Plate Cook-Off this year.

Meet Jimmy Singleton, a Healthy Corners Store Owner

Jimmy Singleton is the owner of Marbury Market, a partner store in our Healthy Corners program, which is delivering fresh fruits and veggies to corner stores in wards 4, 5, 7, and 8. Those wards contain food deserts, large urban areas that are too far from fully-stocked supermarkets with fresh produce.

With Healthy Corners, DC Central Kitchen is partnering with small business owners like Jimmy to change the way his whole community eats.

We recently stopped by to ask what made him want to get involved in Healthy Corners. Here is his story:

Jimmy: “When I first opened this store and stocked healthy foods, they never sold. I was always taking them home to eat so I wouldn’t have to just throw it all away. So I started asking my customers what they wanted in the store.

All of their suggestions were for junk food – sticky buns, soda, cookies, etc. I couldn’t figure out what was so great about this junk food so I decided to try eating like my customers. I gained nearly 100 lbs over the course of one year. I wore size 48 pants and I couldn’t fit into regular shoes.

Then I started cooking at home again and I lost nearly all the weight I had gained. When the Healthy Corners program came, I started eating fresh produce from the store.

Now when people come into the store and see how much weight I lost, they ask me how I did it. I tell them I changed my diet and started eating healthy. Now they ask me to stock more healthy foods.

Healthy Corners made it possible for me to do that because the prices were cheaper than Sam’s Club and other wholesale stores.”

Culinary Job Training Class 88’s Cook Off: Egg Foo Young

Yesterday, Culinary Job Training Class 88 cooked off to produce their best rendition of Egg Foo Young. They were joined by 7 judges: Ken Crerar (Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers), Rhonda Small, Tony Lipari, and Kim Tate from the United Way, Kate Jansen from Willow Restaurant (and her mother Jane), and Reuven Sugarman from Cuba Libre.

New Culinary Instructor Afiya Howell explained how the class prepared all week by making test versions of the dish and learning to work in teams. Marianne Ali, Director of Culinary Job Training, expressed how learning to work with others is an important component of the program.

Zachary Mason, Class 88 Student, said of his experiences thus far: “The past 6 weeks for me have been beautiful. I learn something new every day. I like the hustle bustle, the rush of kicking it out.”

Congrats to Clyde, Millena, Kaprina, Loretta, and Haywood from Team Dim Sum and Dim Sum More, who took first place. Thanks to all of the judges who asked very enlightening questions to our students.

Chef Ed Hosts Cooking Class for Teachers at Kelly Miller Middle School

Last week teachers at Kelly Miller Middle School were invited to participate in an after school cooking class hosted by DCCK’s Executive Chef for School Food, Ed Kwitowski and Production Chef at Alice Deal Middle School, Christina Brown.

The nine teachers who participated were given recipes and instruction on preparing corn-crusted catfish, collard greens, buffalo chicken tenders and cheesy meatballs from scratch.

Chef Ed encouraged the teachers to use the recipes provided as a guide, leaving room to make the final dish their own. The hands on portion of the class involved teachers breading their own catfish and rolling out their meatballs.

The cooking class provided a perfect opportunity for Chef Ed to tell teachers a little bit more about DC Central Kitchen and emphasize that students look to their teachers as role models for healthy choices in the cafeteria.

We love to see the teachers getting involved and are especially grateful to all of those who we see modeling healthy eating habits and engaging the students in conversations about their food every day in the schools!

DC Central Kitchen’s 2011 Annual Report: Redefining Nutrition

Every year marks incredible growth and change for DC Central Kitchen. In 2011, DC Central Kitchen took its biggest leap forward by opening a second production facility, the Nutrition Lab, to showcase the power of what others have cast aside – food, people, and kitchens – to create, empower, and liberate.

We are incredibly proud to announce the release of the 2011 Annual Report. This year’s theme is how we’re redefining nutrition by combating food deserts, serving healthy school meals, supporting local farms, and creating jobs.

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