DCCK Recovers Food from Inauguration Events

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01.26.2009 --

DC Central Kitchen recovered more than five tons of surplus food, including high quality steak, chicken and pork loin, from inaugural events around the Capital region last week.

The Kitchen launched its operations 20 years ago, on January 20, 1989, by redistributing extra food from President George H.W. Bush's Inauguration. As our drivers picked up un-served food from President Barack Obama's Inauguration, we showed that our commitment to the notion that waste is wrong is as strong today as it was when we opened.

In all, we got donated food from about ten inaugural events. The Marriott Wardman Park gave us 2,500 pounds of ribs, pork loin, chicken parmesan, baked goods and fruit that was prepared for Dionne Warwick's American Music Inaugural Ball, a party that was cancelled at the last minute.

Design Cuisine, an Arlington-based caterer that made meals for the inaugural luncheon at the U.S. Capitol, donated 1,000 pounds of steak and chicken breasts. Centerplate, the catering company at the DC Convention Center, gave us more than 6,000 pounds of pasta, produce and bread.

We are repackaging this food and incorporating it into the 4,500 meals that we distribute each day to clients at 100 shelters and social-service agencies.

The Kitchen receives more than 700,000 pounds of donated food each year. Donations enable us not only to reduce waste, but also to devote more of our resources to programs, such as our Culinary Job Training class, that prepare under-employed men and women for jobs.

We thank our Inauguration-week food donors for helping us get our twentieth anniversary year off to a strong start.