The challenges facing our community are significant, real, and deeply rooted. Washington, DC is home to the nation’s widest racial disparity in unemployment and more than one-third of our neighbors were food insecure this year. That is why DC Central Kitchen is stepping up like never before. We have set some ambitious goals for 2024 of serving 3.5 million meals and graduating over 150 individuals from our Culinary Job Training program. We need your help today to make those goals a reality. And between now and December 20, all donations to DC Central Kitchen are being matched 100%!
We are enrolling dozens of new students in our award-winning Culinary Job Training program at exponential rates. With a new class starting every seven weeks, students are provided with an opportunity to change their lives. Because of your support, our culinary students are learning more than just life skills and knife skills, they are becoming mentors and advocates, setting the stage for others to follow. 90% of this year’s graduates have secured new jobs. Graduates like Kishawn, who is thriving at the AC hotel. Even more inspiring is his manager Ednetta, who graduated from the DCCK Culinary Job Training program in 2017. She is opening doors for others like Kishawn to follow her path from DC Central Kitchen to a lasting career.
“I apply lessons from the Culinary Job Training program every day,” says Ednetta. “I learned how to meet people where they are during challenging times and how to help them change their attitudes and succeed.”
Your support is also making healthy, dignified food available in every neighborhood. Our innovative Healthy Corners program has become a national model, with 54 partner retailers, allowing us to serve 15,000 low-income customers across the city. Rather than waiting for more supermarkets in low-income areas, we’re empowering existing small businesses to step up and provide the essential fruits and vegetables everyone deserves. We’re working to create positive change and sustainable solutions in our community.
Thanks to the support of partners like you and the added capacity of our new home, we’ve doubled the number of free summer meals served to food-insecure kids to more than 90,000 in 2023 and just set an organizational record by delivering more than 30,000 Thanksgiving meals. More meals mean more delivery demands, which is why our delivery fleet has grown to allow us to provide an extra 2,500 meals a day compared to last year.
That is what we mean when we say we are fighting harder. We are working hard to shape the future of our city. Let’s keep believing in what’s possible for our community when we work together.
Will you give today? All donations made through December 20th will be matched by anonymous donors.