DC Food Project Fall 2022 Update: Amazon, Starbucks & DC Soccer Club join us!
The end of summer and beginning of fall finds us reflecting on memories of a wonderful few months in the sun as we transition to the jumble of new schedules, earlier sunsets, and the changing colors of the leaves on the trees. It is always a busy time of new beginnings, and feels especially so at DC Food Project as we officially enter into some very exciting new partnerships, focus our efforts on making an impact with Hunger Awareness Month, launch the Pantry Program we tested last school year, and look forward to a new and improved Community Bag Program!
BIG NEWS!
AMAZON PARTNERS WITH DC FOOD PROJECT
We are thrilled to announce that AMAZON has partnered with DC Food Projectto help address food insecurity and support families in DC. This comes at a great time as we kick off our programs during Hunger Awareness Month. Our team plans to use Amazon’s donation towards our Pantry Program to purchase snacks and toiletries.
"People often ask us where we see DC Food Project going from here," said DC Food Project's co-founders, Lucie Leblois and Alysa MacClellan. "Our aspirational goal has always been to make sure no child in Washington, D.C. goes hungry when they go home from school—a lofty goal, we know, but we firmly believe the programs we have launched can be part of that solution. Amazon’s commitment to DC Food Project is the first step towards that dream. We now believe it is attainable."
WE’RE HEADING TO THE WHITE HOUSE OR ALMOST…
We are incredibly honored to participate in next week’s White House Day of Service leading up to the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition & Health. This event will be bringing together Hunger Free America, DC Public Schools, Kelly Miller Middle School, Dreaming Out Loud, AmeriCorps, Albertson’s/Safeway, (us!) DC Food Project, FRAC and other anti-hunger groups.
The event will begin with a kick-off event and rally at Kelly Miller Middle School and then disperse to sites across DC to advance the vision of the WH Conference to “end hunger and increase healthy eating and physical activity by 2030.”
IN THE NUMBERS:
Launching 22 Pantries this fall, supporting children with additional food, snacks and toiletries.
They’re back! We are re-launching 20 Share Tables throughout our partner schools to help reduce food waste while providing an opportunity for other students to take additional helpings.
Hosting 2 Community Bag Distributions prior to the holidays in November and December, helping children and seniors who are among the most vulnerable groups affected by inadequate access to food.
SHOUT OUT TO OUR PARTNERS:
We are honored to have so many wonderful partners who have raised their hand to say they want to help children facing food insecurity. We continue to work with so many as we scale our programs and want to highlight those with whom we are working with throughout National Hunger Awareness Month.
DC Central Kitchen: Our steadfast partners at DC Central Kitchen not only continue to support our efforts but have formally partnered with us for our Pantry Program. They will also be opening their facility to us for all of our Packing and Distribution Days. They’re bringing the kitchen home and we’re thrilled to be part of their journey!
Starbucks: We’ve loved our refreshers this summer but we were even happier when we received a Starbucks Community Grant last month to help us kick off our programs this fall. Thanks to Starbucks partners (employees) and The Starbucks Foundation for recognizing how we are making our communities stronger.
Little Red Fox: Our friends at Little Red Fox are once again opening their doors and launching a specialty drink for which 100% of sales will be donated to support our programs. If you’re in DC, stop by on Friday, September 30th! ⠀⠀
And we would be remiss to not give a special shout out to our ongoing partners at Soupergirl Soups, RIND Snacks and Hungry Harvest. who continue to supply additional healthy and nutritious food to children and seniors we support.
PARTNER HIGHLIGHT:
With fall also comes fall sports, soccer being one of them and a sport all of our kiddos play! Our partners at DC Soccer Club helped organize a donation drive during their Travel Kick off Celebration to help students we support through our various programs. We were overwhelmed by the generosity from all the families who attended. The food and toiletries collected will be distributed to our Pantry schools this fall, which will allow students to access these items on an as needed basis.
DCFP Back to School Programming in Full Swing!
Pantry Program: We are so happy to be re-launching our newer program, the Pantry Program, in 22 schools this fall, with the goal of doubling the number of schools year-over-year. The Pantry provides students easy access to non-perishable food and toiletries on an as-needed basis. Each Pantry is stored on school grounds for easy access to students and families. We will have 5 volunteer days supporting our Pantry Program where volunteers will head to DC Central Kitchen's HQ to help sort food and deliver to our school partners.
Community Bag Program: We will be re-launching our Community Bag Programover the course of the school year with three distributions prior to long breaks and holidays to continue our efforts of helping children and seniors who are often the most affected by inadequate access to food. DC Central Kitchen will also be hosting these packing and distribution days.
If you are interested in volunteering or sponsoring a volunteer day, please contact us here.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
September is Hunger Awareness Month!
September 27: White House Day of Service & Rally
September 30: Little Red Fox & DC Food Project Specialty Drink Day
October 3: RIND & DC Food Project Partner to host Healthy School Assemblies
October 6: DC Food Project Pantry Pack and Deliver Day
November 18: DC Food Project Community Bag Day
November 29: Giving Tuesday
WAYS YOU CAN HELP:
Donate: Help us continue providing for students across Washington, D.C. by making a monetary donation HERE. If you are an organization or company interested in an in-kind donation, please reach out to us directly HERE.
Sponsor: You can donate to and/or sponsor a Pantry! For more information please reach out to us HERE
THANK YOU FROM OUR TEAM TO YOU:
Thank you to our supporters, all of you, who have continued to donate, volunteer and help us provide a greater impact in the lives of DC students. THANK YOU! As always, you can reach us at dcfoodproject@gmail.com
In community,
Alysa, Katie, Krista & Lucie