A Chamber’s Choice Award winner for 2012, the DC Central Kitchen is an institution in DC philanthropy, using food as a tool to strengthen bodies, empower minds, and build communities. To start, DCCK turns tons of leftover, surplus food into 5,000 meals every day for nearly 100 homeless shelters, transitional homes, and nonprofit organizations; while each morning the First Helping team hits the streets to provide warm meals and social services to chronically homeless residents of DC’s Wards 7 and 8.
More important than the meals, however, is the message: DC Central Kitchen offers a rigorous Culinary Job Training program for unemployed men and women who want to replace homelessness, addiction, and incarceration with new careers and changed lives. Funding these programs and creating jobs for graduates is DCCK’s full-service Fresh Start Catering, which features high-quality, locally-sourced ingredients in meals for a wide variety of events. The smart, business-like approach to doing good allowed DCCK to earn more than 50% of its income through social enterprise in 2011.
On October 8th, DCCK is excited to host The Capital Food Fight, an event that brings the food industry's best talent together to support DC Central Kitchen. Dozens of hot restaurants serve signature dishes to guests while top chefs battle on-stage. Food critics and national celebrities will be on hand to mingle with the crowd and add to the excitement.