Back in April we announced that DCCK had partnered up with Feedback to host Feeding the 5000 in DC. On May 18, in an effort to shed light on the growing crisis of food waste and the practical solutions available, DC Central Kitchen and Feedback, with the support of more than 40 other like-minded organizations and chefs, hosted this community event and provided the public with a free meal made entirely from fresh, top-quality ingredients that would have otherwise been wasted.
The leading national nonprofit empowering students to fight hunger and food waste and DCCK’s national arm, The Campus Kitchens Project, hosted a Disco Chop vegetable processing party the day before Feeding the 5000. Student volunteers with The Campus Kitchens Project joined Feedback, DC Central Kitchen, and other volunteers to help chop the more than 3,000 pounds of recovered produce that would later be cooked and served in the meal the following day.
DC Central Kitchen procured the food and prepared the vegetable curry that was served to more than 5000 members of the public who participated in the event.
Chefs José Andrés, Spike Mendelsohn, and Anthony Lombardo held cooking demonstrations with wasted food alongside notable officials including USDA Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack.
DC-based nonprofits teamed-up to host interactive booths that shared solutions to food waste and offered tasty bites made from otherwise wasted food.
All told, the event resulted in more than 6,700 meals served to the public, all made from food that would have otherwise gone to waste.
DC Central Kitchen and The Campus Kitchens Project are proud to have worked in partnership with Feedback to bring this community event to DC. While our team worked tirelessly to both procure the ingredients and prepare the meal for Feeding the 5000, our day didn’t end there. Just like every other day, DC Central Kitchen continued our normal meal operation of using recovered food to prepare 5,000 meals for homeless shelters and partner nonprofits.
We are honored to be a part of the solution to food waste in DC; because, at DC Central Kitchen, every day is Feeding the 5000.