We know that “total health” is about more than absence of sickness, it’s about having a safe place to live, food to eat and nurturing, supportive relationships among other things. The holidays are always a great time to do what we can for our communities to support their total health. At the Center for Total Health, one community partner we wanted to call out this upcoming holiday is DC Central Kitchen. We offer a guest post from DC Central Kitchen’s Alex Moore below. Alex is featured in our Farmers Market display where we talk about food as a strategy for designing healthier communities. Keep his thoughts in mind as you think about giving back to the community this holiday season.
Happy holidays,
Keith Montgomery
Fighting Hunger During the Holiday Season
Alex Moore, Chief Development Officer at DC Central Kitchen
The holiday season is a time for giving back and helping others. At DC Central Kitchen, for example, we fight hunger by providing meals for our community each day while making longer-term investments in career training and job creation that strengthen local food systems and reduce disparities in health and economic opportunity, but we can’t do it alone! Here are some fun ways that you can help us and other food resource programs reach our goals:
- Organize a turkey drive with your co-workers – Turn it into a friendly competition by making teams to see who can collect and/or donate the most turkeys! This will help provide the ultimate Thanksgiving meal for those in need.
- Help plan a food drive through in your neighborhood or apartment building – By collecting staples such as beans, brown rice and canned goods, you can really food resource programs prepare daily meals on a large-scale.
- Register to volunteer – Volunteers are needed daily – not just during the holidays to help prepare meals for our community 365 days a year.
- Make a donation – If you are interested in making a financial contribution, check to see if there are matching donation programs to make you financial gift go further.
Whether you choose to support an organization like DC Central Kitchen or another important community organization, partnerships like the one with Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Total Health, help to highlight the many initiatives underway that are needed to address real problems in our community. I’m even featured in the Center’s farmers market display where you can hear me talk about my perspective on solving hunger, as well as the perspectives of others on food as a strategy for healthy communities. Check it out for yourself by visiting the Center for a tour!
About DC Kitchen:
DC Central Kitchen, located near Union Station in Washington D.C., is a nonprofit developer of innovative social ventures that break the cycle of hunger and poverty. Our mission is to use food as a tool to strengthen bodies, empower minds, and build communities. At DC Central Kitchen, we do more than just feed those in need. We run a 14-week culinary job training program to create economic stability for unemployed adults so they can leave hunger behind. Our social ventures provide 1.8 million meals for our community as well as healthy, locally-sourced meals to students at 15 low-income schools in DC.
If you would like to drop off items to DCCK, here are a few drop-off guidelines to follow, once you have successfully collected your items, you can drop them off during our regular hours, as follows:
- Our regular hours for drop-offs are 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. on weekends.
- DC Central Kitchen’s physical address is 425 2nd St. NW, Washington, DC 20001. Please ensure that you receive a receipt for your donation from our on-site staff as we need to keep track of all food we receive. Donations are tax-deductible.
- DC Central Kitchen is often able to pick up especially large donations. However, we greatly appreciate it if you are able to bring donations to our location. Please contact our food recovery team (foodrecovery@dccentralkitchen.org or 202-400-2804) in advance if you need to schedule a pick-up.
