This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Formation | October 24, 1979 [1] |
---|---|
Type | 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization [2] |
52-11677581 [2] | |
Headquarters | Michigan Park, Washington, D.C. |
Coordinates | 38°56′51″N77°00′00″W / 38.9476123°N 76.9999024°W |
Region | Washington metropolitan area |
Services | Hunger relief, nutrition education, healthy food access |
Founder and former President | Lynn Brantley (1980–2012) |
Former President and CEO | Nancy Roman (2013–2017) [2] |
President and CEO | Radha Muthiah (2018– ) |
Board Chairman | Peter Schnall |
Parent organization | Feeding America |
Subsidiaries | Capital Area Food Bank Foundation [2] |
Revenue (2014) | $53,559,173 [2] |
Expenses (2014) | $59,912,375 [2] |
Staff (2013) | 153 [2] |
Volunteers (2013) | 21,000 [2] |
Website | capitalareafoodbank |
The Capital Area Food Bank is the largest organization in the Washington metro area working to solve hunger and its companion problems: chronic undernutrition, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. By partnering with over 450 community organizations in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia, as well as delivering food directly into hard to reach areas, each year the Capital Area Food Bank is helping nearly half a million people each year get access to good, healthy food.
In fiscal year 2015, the food bank provided nearly 45 million pounds of food—the equivalent of 36 million meals—to the region. In addition to food, the food bank also provides nutrition education and cooking classes, [3] empowering those it serves with the information and skills to shop for and cook healthy meals on a budget.
Counties served by Capital Area Food Bank [4] include Washington, D.C.; Montgomery, Maryland; Prince George's, Maryland; Arlington, Virginia; Fairfax, Virginia; Prince William, Virginia; Alexandria (City), Virginia; Fairfax (City), Virginia; Falls Church (City), Virginia; Manassas (City), Virginia; and Manassas Park (City), Virginia.
The Capital Area Food Bank operates with the assistance of 21,000 volunteers annually, [2] who donate their time to help sort food, teach classes, and perform other important functions for the food bank. [5] The food bank is a member of Feeding America.
The Capital Area Food Bank was officially incorporated on October 24, 1979, [1] but it considers its founding date to be January 15, 1980, coinciding with Martin Luther King Jr.'s fifty-first birthday. [6] Prior to that time, the United States government's Food Stamp Program had been the city's primary source of assisting hungry residents. [7] However, cutbacks in the Food Stamp Program planned for the early 1980s led to the food bank's inception by two local organizations, the United Planning Organization and the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington. [6] In its first year of operation, the food bank managed to offer food to almost one hundred organizations and deliver 1,540 pounds (700 kilograms) of food each month. [5] [6] Throughout the rest of the 1980s, the Capital Area Food Bank proceeded to prosper as it partnered with nearby corporations, such as The Washington Post .
In 1991, the Capital Area Food Bank opened a new warehouse in the Brookland neighborhood in northeast Washington, D.C. The new 48,000-square-foot (4,500 m2) [6] warehouse is more than three times as large as the food bank's original 14,000-square-foot (1,300 m2) warehouse and continues to serve the Capital Area Food Bank today.
In 1998, the food bank opened another warehouse, in Lorton, Virginia, which has since served the needs of residents of Northern Virginia. [6]
In 2004, the first ever Blue Jeans Ball – then called the Farmer's Blue Jeans Ball – was held at Catholic University.
In 1981, just over one million pounds (460,000 kilograms) were processed by the Capital Area Food Bank. Less than 25 years later, in 2005, the food bank outputs over 20 million pounds (9 million kilograms) of food to over 275,000 people, making it the largest food bank in the area. [6] [8]
In 2007, the Capital Area Food Bank distributed 20 million pounds of food and served approximately 383,000 people in the Washington metro area.
In 2012, the Capital Area Food Bank moved to the Bedford Falls Foundation Distribution Center, allowing the organization to dramatically increase its distribution of good food and expand its education spaces.
In 2013, the 8,000-square foot Urban Demonstration Garden, a food growing and education space housed behind the food bank, finished its first season.
In 2014, the Capital Area Food Bank increased its reach to 540,300 people with 42 million pounds of food. [9] The newly launched Fruits and Vegetables Fund for Greater Washington, through which the food bank contract grows fresh produce with local farmers, concluded its first full growing season with support from the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation.
In 2016, the food bank put a new food acceptance policy [10] in place that prioritizes foods lower in sugar and salt and higher in fiber. With help from its retailers, junk food donations dropped by 84% in one year.
In 2017, information about affordable cooking was made accessible for thousands more people when the food bank's recipe cards – which show how to easily prepare a delicious, healthy meal for a family of four for $7 or less – were rolled out in all of the area's 93 Giant stores.
External videos | |
---|---|
Presentation of broccoli to First Lady Barbara Bush by United Fresh Produce Association President George Dunlop, March 26, 1990, C-SPAN |
Due to its central location near the seat of the United States government, the Capital Area Food Bank has been a popular stop for politicians. Four consecutive U.S. presidents – George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama – have visited the food bank.
In 1990, sitting president George H.W. Bush banned broccoli from Air Force One, [11] stating, "I do not like broccoli. And I haven't liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it, and I'm President of the United States. And I'm not going to eat any more broccoli." [12] In response to the ban, an estimated ten tons of broccoli were sent to the White House, which Barbara Bush in turn donated to the Capital Area Food Bank. [13] That same year, the president visited the food bank and incorporated it into his Points of Light Foundation. [6]
On Inauguration Day, 1993, more than thirty-five thousand cans, including one from Tipper Gore, were collected for the Capital Area Food Bank. [6] In 1999, President Bill Clinton visited the food bank to volunteer and George W. Bush duplicated that act in 2002. [14] Likewise, less than two weeks before Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004, U.S. First Lady Laura Bush visited the Capital Area Food Bank to encourage Americans to participate in charitable activities. [6] [15] Other politicians have shown their support for the food bank by donating or otherwise promoting the cause of the Capital Area Food Bank. In 2005, for example, Maryland and Virginia Congressmen Chris Van Hollen, Steny Hoyer, Jim Moran, Frank Wolf, and Albert Wynn were successful in requesting US$1.3 million in federal funds for the food bank. [8]
The Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) is notable for pioneering the use of Client Leadership Councils (CLCs) in their programming efforts. CLCs are steering committees composed of two-dozen food insecure people in the greater D.C. area that rely on CAFB and their network of partners for consistent access to healthy and nutritious foods. Over the course of 9 months, CLC members are put through a series of training programs designed to teach them how to tell their story, contribute to advocacy efforts, interface with the press, and influence CAFB and governmental policy and programming. [16]
CLC members are selected through a thorough application and interview process. Any individual over the age of 18 who resides in the food bank's service area, faces food insecurity, and uses CAFB's services (or those of their distribution partners) is eligible to participate. CAFB works with their non-profit partner network to solicit applications from a wide variety of eligible candidates. [16] Each applicant is then interviewed to ensure they meet the criteria, and that the group at large is widely representative of the larger clientele population.
CLC meetings begin in September and run through May, with members participating in 3-day-long training sessions on a monthly basis. During each session members participate in skill-building workshops, hear from experts working on food security issues, and ultimately make programmatic and policy recommendations to CAFB staff and local public officials. As the months progress, they then work collaboratively with CAFB staff members to implement approved changes. All CLC members are paid a living wage for time spent in program events, and their transportation to all events and meetings is heavily subsidized or fully covered. [17]
Thus far the CLC program has had a significant effect on the ways in which CAFB and local lawmakers combat food insecurity in the region. They have influenced policies like the Virginia Dream Act and secured funding in the DC Mayoral budget through initiatives like Fair Shot DC. [18] Additionally, they have expanded and helped refine the CAFB distribution network, facilitated the introduction of fresh produce to complement monthly food boxes, and have helped CAFB better understand nutritional needs as they vary by age and ethnicity within the clientele population.
Feeding America is a United States–based non-profit organization that is a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks that feed more than 46 million people through food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and other community-based agencies. Forbes ranks it as the largest U.S. charity by revenue. Feeding America was known as America's Second Harvest until August 31, 2008.
The Washington metropolitan area, also sometimes referred to as Greater Washington, the National Capital Region or colloquially as the DMV, is the metropolitan area centered around Washington, D.C., the federal capital of the United States. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. It is part of the larger Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area, which is the third-largest combined statistical area in the country.
The North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) is a social benefit organization located in Plano, Texas. The organization distributes donated, purchased and prepared foods through a network of nearly 1,000 feeding programs and 400 Partner Agencies in 13 North Texas counties. The NTFB supports the nutritional needs of children, seniors, and families through education, advocacy and strategic partnerships.
The Houston Food Bank (HFB) is a non-profit organization and the nation's largest food bank by distribution; providing access to 207 million nutritious meals in 18 counties in southeast Texas. The food bank's operations are made possible through a network of 1,800 community partners alongside their partner food banks in Montgomery County, Galveston and Brazos Valley. Headed by its current President and CEO, Brian Greene, the Houston Food Bank is a member organization of Feeding America, with a four-star rating from Charity Navigator. The Houston Food Bank, which bares the mission statement of Food for Better Lives, continues to be acknowledged for its community impact. Notable recognitions include Food bank of the Year in 2015, presented by Feeding America and the Pinnacle winner in 2012 and 2014, presented by the Better Business Bureau.
Shoppers Food & Pharmacy, also known as Shoppers Food Warehouse, is a chain of 22 supermarkets located in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., metropolitan areas. Shoppers has fresh produce, Swift Angus beef, Smithfield natural pork, all-natural chicken, Dietz & Watson delis, fresh seafood, steamed shrimp, as well as hot food bars.
Giant Food of Maryland, LLC is an American regional supermarket chain with 165 stores located in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. It is a subsidiary of Ahold Delhaize, and headquartered in unincorporated Prince George's County, Maryland, near Landover.
A Campus Kitchen is an on-campus student service program that is a member of the nonprofit organization, The Campus Kitchens Project. At a Campus Kitchen, students use on-campus kitchen space and donated food from their cafeterias to prepare and deliver nourishing meals to their communities.
DC Central Kitchen is a nationally recognized "community kitchen" that recycles food from around Washington, D.C., and uses it as a tool to train unemployed adults to develop work skills while providing thousands of meals for local service agencies in the process. Chef José Andrés serves on the board.
Martha's Table is a non-profit organization, an active charity and volunteer center in the Washington, D.C., area.
Datatel, Inc. was a private company that provided fully integrated software and professional services to build enterprise education platforms for higher education until it combined with its competitor SunGard Higher Education to form Ellucian in 2012. Datatel was headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia.
The Greater Chicago Food Depository (GCFD) is a nonprofit organization that fights hunger throughout Cook County, Illinois. The GCFD distributes donated and purchased food through a network of 700 food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and community programs, serving more than 800,000 adults and children every year. In fiscal year 2016, the GCFD distributed more than 70 million pounds of nonperishable food, produce, dairy products, and meat - the equivalent of more than 160,000 meals every day. Of the $96,883,955 spent in 2016, over 90% went to direct food distribution programs.
Bread for the City is a comprehensive front line agency serving the poor of Washington, D.C., USA. The agency began as two organizations: Zacchaeus Free Clinic, and Bread for the City, a project by a coalition of downtown DC churches created in 1974 to feed and clothe the poor. As of 2011 Bread for the City offered food, clothing, social services, legal representation and medical care without charge to eligible DC residents.
The Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) is a nonprofit organization created in conjunction with - but separate from - former First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! effort in 2010. PHA works with the private sector to transform the food landscape in pursuit of health equity. Mrs. Obama currently serves as PHA's honorary chair, and alongside Higher Ground Productions, launched the Pass the Love w/ Waffles + Mochi campaign on March 10, 2021, with PHA to raise funds to aid in the distribution of 1 million meals to families in need around the country. Inspired by the Netflix series Waffles + Mochi, the campaign also raises awareness about food equity.
Second Harvest North Florida (SHNF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Jacksonville, Florida, that performs food rescue and redistribution to partner agencies in one quarter of Florida's 67 counties. The charitable organization has been active for over 30 years.
City Harvest is one of New York City's largest food rescue organizations. The organization collects food waste from restaurants, bakeries, and cafes.
Louis Junior Grasmick was an American businessman, philanthropist, and professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the 1948 Philadelphia Phillies.
Food Lifeline is a non-profit organization that supplies food to different food banks across Western Washington. Food Lifeline is responsible for repackaging and delivering food to 275 different organizations that distribute meals to the Western Washington population. Out of all the food distributed to these different organizations, 30% of the meals end up coming directly from Food Lifeline alone. Food Lifeline is part of a nationwide non-profit called Feeding America and assists in collecting food that would otherwise go to waste.
St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance is a nonprofit, nonsectarian organization located in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1967 by John van Hengel, St. Mary's was the first modern organization to operate using the food bank model, which spread throughout U.S. and the rest of the world. Today, St. Mary's is recognized as the world's first food bank.
Rethink Food NYC Inc, commonly called Rethink Food or just Rethink, is a non-profit organization based in New York City. The organization was founded to address hunger in the United States by contributing to a sustainable and equitable food system. Rethink collects excess food from restaurants, grocery stores, and corporate kitchens to provide nutritious meals for people living without food security at low or no-cost. The organization expanded its operations in March 2020 to meet growing food demands amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
During his tenure as the 41st president of the United States, George H. W. Bush frequently mentioned his distaste for broccoli, famously saying: "I do not like broccoli. And I haven't liked it since I was a little kid. And my mother made me eat it. Now I'm president of the United States. And I'm not gonna eat any more broccoli!" Bush's views on broccoli were seen as out of touch with Americans, as broccoli was becoming more popular and was referred to as the "vegetable of the 80s".
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)