On Thanksgiving morning, Vice President Kamala Harris, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, and their family, joined the volunteers and staff at DC Central Kitchen to prepare a portion of the organizational record 69,000 Thanksgiving meals that the nonprofit distributed to homeless shelters, youth programs, and other front-line nonprofits across the nation’s capital over the holiday.
Founded 35 years ago as the nation’s first ‘community kitchen,’ DC Central Kitchen combats hunger by providing nutritious meals while training unemployed adults for culinary careers. This is the third visit by the Vice President since 2020, and the first since DC Central Kitchen opened its new, 36,000-square-foot headquarters called the Klein Center for Jobs and Justice in 2023. Previously, Harris visited the nonprofit as Vice President-Elect in 2020, lending her support on Thanksgiving when DC Central Kitchen was conducting large-scale emergency relief efforts during the COVID-19 health crisis at its operation located in a shelter basement in downtown DC. She returned the following year with Mr. Emhoff, President Joe Biden, and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden to volunteer alongside DC Central Kitchen staff.
“Vice President Harris and Second Gentleman Emhoff have been staunch advocates for the importance of fighting food insecurity, creating economic opportunities, and providing meaningful service opportunities that unite our communities,” says DC Central Kitchen CEO Mike Curtin, Jr. “For them to return to DC Central Kitchen on Thanksgiving for the third time and see how our impact has grown in our new facility reminds us all that everyone can serve and that everyone can make a difference.”
Since moving to the Klein Center for Jobs and Justice, DC Central Kitchen has doubled its daily production of healthy school meals, increased the number of people it trains for culinary careers by 120%, and invested more than $2 million in local farmers.
Photo courtesy of White House Photo Office // Lawrence Jackson