Co-op Shift Marks One Year Anniversary

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04.09.2009 --

DC Central Kitchen is proud to recognize the one-year anniversary of its evening Co-op shift, which brings volunteers to the Kitchen three nights a week to prepare and chop fresh produce.

Since the Co-op shift began, the Kitchen has been able to accommodate nearly twice as many volunteers and is using substantially more fresh and local fruits and vegetables in its meals.

We received 200,000 pounds of donated fresh produce since the Co-op shift began – a 128-percent increase over the previous 12 months.

"The Co-op is all about is partnering with local farmers to cut our costs and get the most out of our resources," Co-op shift supervisor Bo Sims said.

DCCK has taken this opportunity to drastically reduce the amount of canned produce we use, enabling us to send healthier meals to our 100 partner agencies.

Evening volunteers make fresh stock using donated chicken bones, and vacuum seal large quantities of collards, squash and other vegetables. That means our clients can enjoy these healthy foods even when they are not available locally.

The added shift allows us to engage more volunteers. In the past year, more than 4,500 volunteers have worked the evening shifts, increasing the Kitchen's volunteer count by 80 percent.

"The Co-op shift has opened up a lot of opportunities for more partnerships with businesses in DC and Virginia that could not make it to the morning shifts to volunteer," DCCK volunteer coordinator Carolyn Parham said. "The resulting partnerships have also brought in more donations – both money and food."