It is with great sadness and many treasured memories that we share the passing of Chef Jerald Thomas, a dear friend of DCCK and an indelible part of our history.
Jerald first came to DC Central Kitchen nearly thirty years ago. A veteran of the Marine Corps and U.S. Navy, he fell on hard times after his time serving our country. While enrolled in a residential treatment program in downtown DC, Jerald walked downstairs to the noisy, busy basement operation known as DC Central Kitchen. Skeptical at first, Jerald decided to enroll in our Culinary Job Training program and soon embraced our Self-Empowerment curriculum. After graduation, he took a job in the cafeteria of the Central Intelligence Agency, but, to his surprise, he soon felt compelled to return to that bustling basement.
Jerald first joined DC Central Kitchen’s staff as the sous chef of our catering department. He was soon promoted to executive chef of catering and then moved up to kitchen director, responsible for dozens of employees and thousands of daily meals. In his final years at DCCK, he elected to serve as our lead culinary instructor and use his own skills and life experiences to mentor incoming students. As one long-time employee said of Jerald in an interview, “If [founder] Robert [Egger] was the king of DC Central Kitchen, Jerald was the prince.”
Jerald retired from DC Central Kitchen in 2013 but couldn’t stay away from sharing his knowledge. He joined United Planning Organization as a program manager later that year, and within two years he was back leading students as UPO’s own culinary arts instructor.
In an April 2021 profile of Jerald in the Washington City Paper, DCCK CEO Mike Curtin said, “He brought an amazing crystal clear sense of honesty and values and I’d say they were a byproduct of his belief in what DCCK can do. Jerald was a product of DCCK. He understood the program and the value of liberation and opportunity and change. He saw what it did for him and he had this incredible desire to make sure other people saw what was possible for them.”
“As much as anyone who has served on DCCK’s staff, Jerald embodied the fullness of what our organization believed was possible for people when they embrace change and our community meets them halfway,” says Chief Development Officer Alex Moore, who relied on Jerald’s oral histories and operational insights for The Food Fighters, his book on DC Central Kitchen. “A student who became an instructor. A social enterprise staffer who assumed the role of operational mastermind. A proud veteran who wasn’t sure that our Self-Empowerment Class suited him chose a career advocating for top-quality social services and meaningful second chances. I was lucky to learn from Jerald for more than two decades, and I’ll miss his kindness and bear hugs forever.”
“Jerald was not only a coworker, he was a friend that was nice to everyone,” longtime DC Central Kitchen co-worker Brenda Walker told us. “Jerald used to say, ‘Brenda, you can’t get everyone [enrolled] in the CJT class,’ and we’d laugh about that, but I said, ‘I am going to try.’ He will be missed.”
Chef Jerald embodied our mission by sharing his talent for the culinary arts with warmth, generosity, and joy. His professionalism, integrity, and love for people touched thousands of lives, and his memory will live on in our hearts and ongoing work. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends. To learn more about Jerald’s impact, read his full obituary,