Each year, DC Central Kitchen welcomes more than 15,000 volunteers to our headquarters in the basement of one of America’s largest homeless shelters. With volunteers visiting us from all 50 states and dozens of countries around the world, we know many individuals will only work with us one time. But other volunteers become mainstays of our kitchen operation, including our dear friends at Hindu American Community Service, Inc. (HACSI). Since 2004, we’ve welcomed the devoted volunteers of HACSI two to three times each month. That equates to more than 1,400 hours of chopping, slicing, dicing, and cooking each year!
Every month, our partners at HACSI prepare a fully vegetarian meal for our partner agencies. Working closely with our Director of Procurement, HACSI orders the necessary quantity of ingredients for a menu they plan and prepare alongside our staff during a designated volunteer shift.
In addition to donating their time, this group has generously invested in our food budget as well. Last month, HACSI crossed a lifetime total giving of $250,000 to DC Central Kitchen in service of their mission to provide community, charitable, educational and relief services. In 2017 alone, the organization gave over $14,000 to DC Central Kitchen in support of our Community Meals program. Thank you, HACSI, for becoming part of the DC Central Kitchen family and helping prepare 10,000 to 15,000 meals each month!