Monthly Archives: November 2012

Healthy Corners Participates in Ward 8 Turkey Give Away

As part of our effort to promote the fresh produce in our Healthy Corners stores, DC Central Kitchen participated in last week’s Ward 8 Turkey Giveaway. We handed out sweet potatoes and recipes and gave the community a taste of the healthy fresh food they can find in their neighborhoods.

Residents lined up by the hundreds outside of Union Temple Church in Anacostia to receive one of the two thousand turkeys being distributed to ensure a well nourished holiday for local families.

Healthy Corners was there to add to the holiday bounty, passing out 200 pounds of sweet potatoes. Participants were given two sweet potatoes along with a simple recipe for preparation and a banana and some trail mix to snack on while waiting for turkeys.

Many of those who stopped by were pleasantly surprised to hear of our two Healthy Corners stores within walking distance of Union Temple Church that sell reasonably priced fresh fruits, vegetables and healthy snacks.

Get our recipe for Simple Sauteed Sweet Potatoes here.

Over 1,000 Turkeys Donated to DC Central Kitchen

We’re so thankful that over 1,000 turkeys and thousands of pounds of sides were donated for this holiday season. We could not do our work without our community of donors. Here is a comprehensive list of our friends who donated holiday food over the past few weeks. We thank everyone that gave to fight hunger in their community.

DC Central Kitchen was open on Thanksgiving to produce thousands of holiday meals for hungry DC residents.

Turkeys:

Ayrshire Farms

• Donated 327 organic turkeys

Butterball

• Donated 200 turkeys

Cuisine Solutions

• Donated 1700 lbs. of turkey breast

Miller, Balis & O’Neil, PC

• Raised $620, which the firm matched bringing total check to $1,240 to purchase 100 turkeys

Federal Schedulers

• Donated $1,000 Costco Gift Card to buy food

Emmanual Brinklow SDA Church

• Donated 46 turkeys

Lockhead Martin

• Donated 60 turkeys

McKean Defense Group

• Donated 40 turkeys

United Praise Youth Choir (Richmond, VA)

• Donated 28 turkeys

UDC Law School

• Donated 25 turkeys

City Year

• Collected and donated 24 Turkeys

Carmine’s DC

• Donated 20 turkeys

FRESHFARM Markets- DuPont Circle

• Collected $ to purchase 14 turkeys

AMYX

• Donated 12 turkeys

American Gas Association

• Donated $180 in Safeway gift cards to purchase 11 turkeys and 100 lbs. of canned goods

Dekatron Corporation

• Donated 10 turkeys

Georgetown Conference Center

• Donated 7 turkeys

Tiffanie Williams

• Donated 6 turkeys

Jamilia Nero

• Individual
• Donated 6 turkeys

Aspen of DC

• Donated 5 turkeys in addition to canned goods and toiletry items

Kiya Badrpay

• Donated 3 turkeys

Justin Lesher

• Donated 2 turkeys

Bill Bates

• Donated 1 Turkey

Patricia Howard

• Donated 1 Turkey

Georgetown Law School Alumni

• Donated 1 Turkey

Total Turkeys: 1,028

Other Food Donations:

DC JCC- Everything But the Turkey

• 13^th annual event with Washington DC Jewish Community Center on Nov, 19^th and 21^st.
• Volunteers assembled 346 pans of Thanksgiving side dishes: cole slaw, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green beans, stuffing and harvest bean salad
• Volunteers assembled 5,000 snack-bags of trail mix for Healthy Returns

Feast of Sharing- Safeway and The Walter E. Washington Convention Center

• DCCK recovered prepared food from dinner

State Department/Walmart

• State Dept. hosting Taste of Thanksgiving event at the Blair House on Nov. 15^th , Foreign Ambassadors are assembling 600 bags of Thanksgiving food items (product donated by Walmart)

FRESHFARM Markets- DuPont Circle

• Held collection at Market which raised $3,091 which we spent at the farmers market purchasing: 14 organic free range Turkeys and 1,356 lbs. of produce

Georgetown Day School

• Donated 250 homemade pies

Beauvoir School

• Donated 300 pumpkin pies

Christ Crossman United Methodist Church (Falls Church)

• Donated 15 homemade pies

Lindsey Vaala

• Donated $480 and Thanksgiving canned goods

National Council of Farmers Co-Op

• Donated Thanksgiving canned goods

Arc Construction

• Donated Thanksgiving canned goods

American University- Psi Sigma Pi Honor Society

• Donated Thanksgiving canned goods

American University- SIS council

• Donated Thanksgiving canned goods

American University- Alpha Kappa Psi

• Donated Thanksgiving canned goods

NY Avenue Pres. Church

• Donated Thanksgiving canned goods

Georgetown Law School

• Donated Thanksgiving canned goods

University of Michigan and Ohio State drive

• Donated Thanksgiving canned goods and First Helping items

Melissa Morrisey (individual)

• Holding neighborhood food drive

New Media Strategies:

• Donated Thanksgiving canned goods

Washington WholeSale

• Donated Thanksgiving canned goods

Temple Sinai DC

• Donated Thanksgiving canned goods

Center for Food Safety:

• Donated Thanksgiving canned goods

DC Central Kitchen Wins USDA Farm to School Grant

We’re all about local impact at DC Central Kitchen. That’s why we’re proud to announce that we won a $100,000 grant from the USDA Farm to School program to invest more into local produce.

Because of seasonality, it’s hard for us to use local when it’s out of season. This grant will give us more capacity to process and safely store fresh produce when it’s ready locally.

With the additional funding we’ll also increase our investment into local growers and farmers by 43 percent over 2011, to an impressive $165,000 in local impact.

The produce will be used in over 5,000 healthy, scratch-cooked meals each day serving students at DC Public Schools.

Over half of DCCK’s funding comes from generating revenue through social enterprise and with this Farm to School Grant, we’re not just investing resources back into the community. We’re also seeing a return on that investment that cycles back to our other life changing programs. The Healthy School Food Program is an example of how we’re thinking long-term about being a sustainable organization.

The Washington Post ran a story on the USDA award last week. Check it out here.

Walmart and US Department of State Team Up to Support DC Central Kitchen

Last Thursday, Walmart and the US Department of State teamed up to provide 600 bags of Thanksgiving meal items to DC Central Kitchen.

Foreign ambassadors and their families gathered at the Blair House for the annual Taste of Thanksgiving hosted by the State Department to share in the American tradition of Thanksgiving and celebrate the power of food to bring people together.

While dining on gourmet Thanksgiving fare provided by American Chef Corps members Chef Art Smith, Chef B. Smith and Chef Richard Hetzler, guests were invited to participate in a service project to benefit DC Central Kitchen.

Thanks to a generous product donation by Walmart, diplomats and their families helped to assemble 600 re-usable bags filled with yams, green beans, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes and stuffing. These bags will be distributed through First Helping, DC Central Kitchen’s street outreach program which serves breakfast to homeless and low-income men and women and helps them find homes, jobs, and new beginnings

Bags will also be distributed to current students and alumni of our Culinary Job Training Program.  DC Central Kitchen thanks Walmart and the State Department for providing all of our clients with a taste of Thanksgiving this year.

Walmart is a long-time partner of DC Central Kitchen, providing over $1.1 million to support life changing programs.

James Weeks: How I Found A New Beginning

Four years ago, I was hungry, homeless, and feeling hopeless. I heard about DC Central Kitchen’s white van on South Capitol Street that served meals. I found much more than breakfast. I found hope and a new beginning.

Today, I’m asking you to donate to DC Central Kitchen to change more lives.

An outreach worker told me about DC Central Kitchen’s Culinary Job Training program. I enrolled, and 14 weeks later I graduated with a food handlers’ license and a job.

Now I’m no longer standing in line waiting for a sandwich. From a hot, healthy meal to intensive training and finally a steady job, DC Central Kitchen has helped me completely turn my life around.

This April, DC Central Kitchen gave me a new opportunity: there was a job opening in the same street outreach program that gave me my new beginning. Today, I’m driving the white van every morning to help people like me get the services and support they need to change their lives.

I ask you to please make a donation today. Your gift buys an opportunity for the people like me who are ready to change, but need a hand getting out of the sandwich line and into the driver’s seat.