It’s been a busy and exciting first quarter over here at DC Food Project HQ as we continue to chase our goals of implementing programs in every DCPS school – and beyond! From working to diversify and strengthen our partnerships, to implementing new share tables and pantry programs, to having a blast at our volunteer events, things are off to a great start. We look forward to seeing many of you out there soon – hopefully with some more of this gorgeous spring sunshine!

SHOUT OUT TO OUR PARTNERS:

Our friends and partners from DC Soccer Club have not only been supporting DC Food Project this past school year, they also came out to volunteer with our team for one of our distributions and provided soccer balls and hats to hundreds of our families - huge thanks to you for your commitment and belief in our work!
To be able to diversify what we can provide to our school partners has been a major goal of ours and we couldn’t do it without the support of Black Nurses Association of the Greater Washington DC Area, Compass, Amore Learning, Flex All Day, Grove Collaborative, House of Representative Childcare Center & Stoddert ES Student Council for the many donations you have provided over the past few months - thank you!

**Support & Feed** has been providing warm meals to the seniors we support in Ward 4 working in collaboration with **PLNT Burger**. What an incredible treat it was to surprise these seniors who were thrilled. We’re excited to be expanding this partnership into schools this springand beyond.

THANK YOU SUPPORTERS:

Thank you to the Lucas Kaempfer Foundation for believing in our mission and providing us a grant for general operating support throughout this school year.
During the month of January we cheered on for our friend and supporter, Daniel Schoeff who raised funds for DC Food Project cycling 10,000 miles for $10,000. Thank you Daniel and the NCVC Elite Team Riders!

**WHAT WE’RE HEARING FROM OUR SCHOOL AMBASSADORS:**

“Having a food pantry onsite helps the students feel less stressed and worried about a basic need not being met. When a student is having a hard time focusing because they have to worry about where their next meal is coming from we can't expect them to learn.” - Corease Doty, Roosevelt STAY Opportunity Academy
“We are a Title I school. Without the DCFood Project Pantry we would not be able to meet the needs of our families.” - Mia Thornton, Powell ES
“This has helped our families out in ways I can’t imagine. They are able to come to school knowing that if they are hungry or need deodorant or other things you offer they are able to get them. My families bring scholars to our school for this purpose.” – Bianca Tobias, Hope Community PCS

UPDATE ON OUR PROGRAMS:

Our programs currently support over two thousand pre-identified students across the District and continue to grow.

Pantry Program: The Pantry provides students easy access to non-perishable food and toiletries on an as-needed basis. Each Pantry locker is stored on school grounds for easy access to students and families. Our team launched sixteen (16) new Pantry programs this school year and are now in a total of thirty (30) DC schools. We want to take this time to thank our school partners and Ambassadors who manage each of these pantries and ensure students in need receive the food and toiletries we provide.
Share Tables: Share tables are the easiest way to reduce food waste in schools while increasing access to healthy snacks and lunch items for all kids! Share tables are currently running in fifteen (15) schools with new additions nearly weekly.
Community Bag Program: Our Community Bag Program provides produce and dried goods to families and seniors throughout several DCcommunities. We are prepping for our pre-summer Community Distribution Day in early June, stay tuned for details!

**SCHOOL SHOUT OUTS:**

We would like to welcome the following new schools to the DC Food ProjectFamily - we’re thrilled to be working with you!
Banneker High School
Dorothy Heights Elementary
Eaton Elementary School
Hearst Elementary School
Hope Community Public Charter School
Murch Elementary School
Statesman Preparatory School for Boys
Taylor Elementary - Arlington, VA
Van Ness Elementary School

UPCOMING EVENTS:

April 6: Pantry Pack and Deliver Day
June 9: Summer Pantry and Community Bag Distribution

Want to join us? Click HERE to learn more and Volunteer!

**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:

As the flowers start blooming and the world turns back to green we hope you are as energized as we are to move forward into Spring! In the meantime, thank you as always for all of your support.

As always, you can reach us at dcfoodproject@gmail.com

In community,
Alysa, Katie, Krista & Lucie

DC Food Project Spring 2023 Update: What we’re hearing, new partnerships & more