13,443 consecutive days. That’s how many times DC Central Kitchen has opened our doors before dawn, fired up our stoves, and provided the food and hope our community needed. And through all the uncertainty and change that 2025 has brought to Washington, DC, we’ve never once taken a day off.
It’s your support that lets us step up for our community, day after day.
Now, you have the chance to act at a crucial time. DC’s unemployment rate is up by more than 25% this year. Many local businesses have shuttered, food costs are rising, and reductions in our social safety net already had DC nonprofits striving to meet unprecedented needs—even before the federal government shutdown further strained and disrupted essential food assistance programs like ours.
Thanks to you, we’re serving more meals than ever before. We’re strengthening our culinary training services for record numbers of job-seeking residents. Hundreds of front-line nonprofits, devoted home-delivery volunteers, homebound seniors, and mobility-challenged veterans are counting on the food and comfort we deliver every day. And we’re just getting started…because this is our city, and we’re fighting for its future.
Will you fuel our fight against hunger and poverty in DC with a gift today? Right now, all donations to DC Central Kitchen will be fully matched, up to $300,000, thanks to the combined generosity of The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation and The Morningstar Foundation! This emergency response challenge expires on December 19, so please make your gift as soon as you can.
We’re up against some huge challenges right now—but by supporting this generous matching opportunity, you’ll allow DC Central Kitchen to respond with innovative approaches like these:
- Expanded meal production supporting homeless shelters, outreach programs, and thousands of schoolchildren with nutritious, local foods—including up to 500 additional meals per day since November 1.
- Home-delivered daily meals for more than 250 food insecure seniors and veterans who would otherwise fall between the cracks and 4 new emergency meal distribution sites across the city powered by our mobile meals truck.
- Tuition-free culinary training for unemployed adults of all ages with modern equipment, hands-on learning, and connections to local employers. See how our partnership with Marriott launched a powerful career pathway for our culinary graduate Toney in this compelling video.
- Creative partnerships with more than 55 small corner stores that allow 22,000 low-income neighbors to shop for fresh, affordable produce in their own communities.
More food today to stave off rising rates of hunger. More job training to help people secure meaningful employment tomorrow. That’s how your gift takes on DC’s most pressing challenges. And to make that gift even more powerful, it will be matched dollar for dollar by The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation and The Morningstar Foundation, up to $300,000!
Of the 13,443 days we’ve served this city, we know the days ahead might be our toughest. But now is when our work matters even more. Please make your fully-matched gift today. Thank you for believing in the future of DC.