DC Central Kitchen050

DC Central Kitchen is a non-profit corporation that began its first phase of operations on January 20, 1989, redistributing the excess food from the Presidential inauguration. The Kitchen is founded on the premise that when fighting poverty, one must fight to win by using every resource available. Since its inception, DC Central Kitchen has used the kitchen as a central location to recover unused food, prepare and deliver meals to partner social service agencies, train and employ homeless men and women for the food service industry, and intellectually engage volunteers. As a community kitchen, it recycles over one ton of surplus food each day that would otherwise go to waste and turns it into 4,000 meals for the hungry in the greater Washington, DC region. Among the people preparing these meals are the students of its Culinary Job Training program; once homeless and hungry individuals themselves, these aspiring men and women are equipped with professional and life skills. Volunteers (13 and up) can assist with meal prep, chopping vegetables, sorting produce, mixing salads, portioning meals, de-boning meat, and sorting cans. In partnership with the Mid-Atlantic Gleaning Network volunteer groups can also glean – or pick surplus crops – for the DC Central Kitchen at farms in the DC Metropolitan Area. Families with children are encouraged to join.