17,000 sq. ft. addition will add a produce market, fast casual option, and training facilities to nonprofit’s Southwest DC headquarters
Just three years after opening a 36,000 square foot headquarters on Buzzard Point, DC Central Kitchen is expanding again. The acclaimed DC nonprofit announced construction of a 17,000 square foot addition to its Michael R. Klein Center for Jobs and Justice, extending its operation to a full city block and incorporating significant new programming elements. The addition will feature a healthy produce market featuring affordable, locally grown items, a fast casual salad concept, two more classrooms, and increased cold storage and food production spaces. Set to open in early spring 2027, the project will allow the nonprofit to diversify its Culinary Job Training program for adults with histories of homelessness, addiction, and incarceration with more space dedicated to increased job training enrollment, food distribution, and food is medicine interventions.
“At a time when hunger and unemployment are growing in DC, too many others are choosing to double down on outdated thinking and diminished expectations,” said DC Central Kitchen President & CEO Mike Curtin, Jr. “With the support of our incredible partners, DC Central Kitchen is choosing to Double Up, investing in stronger programs, innovative new solutions, and sustainable business ventures that will create good jobs and essential food access in our city.”
At a special event on Wednesday, September 30, DC Central Kitchen announced the public phase of its $35 million Doubling Up fundraising campaign and revealed a major new gift. The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation announced a $10 million grant with naming-level support for the forthcoming DC Central Kitchen Market and programming funds for training residents with employment barriers for ‘the food jobs of the future.’
“This pivotal gift from The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation builds on their long-standing commitment to providing access to both hospitality careers and healthy food in our community,” says Curtin. “It also represents the willingness of the Foundation and the Marriott family to think strategically, act boldly, and encourage others to join them in stepping up when times are tough.”
“Our long-standing partnership with DC Central Kitchen has always been about unlocking opportunity, but this expansion marks an ambitious moment for DC,” said Mieka Wick, CEO, of The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation. “By building this new culinary and training hub, we aren’t just expanding a physical footprint—we are investing in the food jobs of the future and creating sustainable healthy food access where it is needed most. We are proud to anchor the Doubling Up campaign with this $10 million gift, and we hope it inspires others in our community to join us and invest in solutions that empower local residents with meaningful careers.”
The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation joins several other leading local philanthropists as major supporters of the Doubling Up campaign. Last fall, Michael R. Klein committed $10 million to the expansion project while chef and humanitarian José Andrés and the Longer Tables Fund pledged $2.5 million.
Andrés, who has volunteered with the organization for more than thirty years, says that “DC Central Kitchen shows us what one dollar can do when we put it to work. That same dollar can reduce food waste, train people to cook, create jobs, and put healthy food on the table, giving people the opportunity to build something better for themselves and their communities. One dollar can create so many opportunities. This is the kind of work we should all be behind.”
At the event on Wednesday, the Bedford Falls Foundation announced a $1.2 million matching grant to the project, encouraging donors of all sizes to make gifts of their own. Other featured speakers included Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, Marriott Director of Restaurant Operations and DCCK Board Chair Dupree Braswell, and Rickia Everette, a graduate of DCCK’s Culinary Job Training program who now works full-time with the organization guiding volunteers and tours. Before offering construction tours of the new addition to the 140 guests in attendance, DC Central Kitchen announced that a total of $27 million had been committed to the Doubling Up project to date, 77% of the overall $35 million goal.
For more on the Doubling Up expansion as it approaches completion in early spring 2027, visit www.doublingupdcck.org.
ABOUT DC CENTRAL KITCHEN
DC Central Kitchen (DCCK) is an iconic nonprofit and social enterprise that combats hunger and poverty through job training and job creation. Our approach provides hands-on culinary job training while creating living-wage jobs and bringing nutritious, dignified food where it is most needed in our city. We serve scratch-cooked farm-to-school meals in DC schools; deliver fresh, affordable produce to corner stores in neighborhoods without supermarkets; provide delicious catering; and operate fast-casual cafes. DCCK has been featured in national media including The Washington Post, The Atlantic, National Geographic, PBS NewsHour, and more. To learn more, visit dccentralkitchen.org or follow @dccentralkitchen on Instagram.
ABOUT THE J. WILLARD AND ALICE S. MARRIOTT FOUNDATION
The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation is dedicated to fostering equitable, sustainable, and thriving communities by partnering with extraordinary nonprofit organizations to address today’s most pressing challenges and create lasting opportunity. Founded in 1966, the foundation focuses its grantmaking in the Washington, D.C. region and actively collaborates with partners across sectors to drive meaningful impact. At the heart of the foundation’s work are the values and principles of its founders, J. Willard Marriott and Alice Sheets Marriott.