Family Spring Break at DCCK
Tommy Olson from St. Paul, Minnesota wanted his kids to have a unique spring break experience. At his law firm in St. Paul, he has organized volunteer efforts with Meals on Wheels and currently tutors with co-workers at a local church every Tuesday.
He wants to pass his enthusiasm for giving back on to his children, so he searched for volunteer opportunities around the country over spring break and came across DC Central Kitchen. The family made the trip to DC to spend two days volunteering at the Nutrition Lab.
Aiden and Annie said that they’ve never been on a trip like this before, though they’ve spent plenty of time volunteering with their dad as their scout leader.
While they expressed a little bit of reluctance about the plans at first, Aiden said that they’re having a lot of fun here in DC and at the Lab. On their first day the Olson’s helped peel 500 pounds of carrots. Tommy said that they’re all eager to go back to St. Paul and share their stories of the time spent here at the Lab with Annie and Aiden’s classmates.
New volunteer registration system launches today
Today, DC Central Kitchen launches a new and easier to use volunteer registration system.
The new volunteer calendar also allows you to view opportunities in several different formats. If you already have a volunteer login via the old system, you will need to create a new login to use this system. One benefit is you can now view opportunities without registering or logging in.
DC Central Kitchen sees tens of thousands of volunteers every year and they are crucial to producing over 5,000 meals each day at our 2nd Street Main Kitchen. We’re now opening opportunities to volunteer at the Nutrition Lab on Evarts Street, where Fresh Start’s revenue generating programs need help generating thousands of additional meals.
As part of an effort to improve the volunteer program, we’re also asking you to fill out a quick survey about your experiences. Please pass this link onto your group.
Thanksgiving donations help us prepare healthy holiday meals
Thanksgiving is around the corner and we’re excited to be getting donations of fresh turkeys for our holiday meals.
Butterball donated a huge shipment of turkeys today – and I was there to get photos of Stephen Kendall, our Food Procurement guy, and some dedicated volunteers unloading the truck in the bitter cold.
We also would like to thank Phillip Brown and the folks at the Huguenot Road Baptist Church in Richmond, VA for their generous turkey donations over the years.
And we’d also like to thank DC JCC, who prepare the sides for all of our Thanksgiving meals! We always are looking for donations of the side dishes.
To donate food for the holidays, contact Stephen Kendall at skendall@dccentralkitchen.org or 202-400-2804.
Walmart volunteers at DC Central Kitchen
This week, we’re excited to have the Walmart team here to help prepare meals with our Culinary Job Training graduates. Walmart has sponsored Class 86 of the Culinary Job Training Program.
Groups that volunteer at the kitchen get a tour to learn more about our story. Volunteering is really the best way to experience DC Central Kitchen because you get to talk with our graduates and meet people who have had life changing experiences. Volunteers are essential to our mission and help us turn 3,000 pounds of leftover food into 4,500 meals each day for homeless shelters, rehabilitation clinics, and school food programs.
Slots fill up fast, but visit our volunteer registration page at www.dccentralkitchen/volunteer to sign up.
