Although that is not our role, we do work hand-in-hand with those organizations working on the front line in the struggle against hunger.

We are a distribution center, with smaller organizations coming to shop for fresh produce and food to serve directly to their clients.

Food donated to the CAFB from companies and individuals goes through our partner agencies – community organizations such as food pantries, church groups, etc. – and directly to residents in need.

In addition to food distribution, we take pride in empowering our partners through our teaching kitchen, nutrition programs and a variety of other resources.

A good example is Top Shelf, our premier training series that teaches our partners important subjects such as how to:

• Manage nonprofit finances
• Develop programs
• Recruit volunteers
• Distribute healthy food

The Top Shelf series consists of seven workshops providing a solid foundation for emergency feeding programs that want to improve their operations. The next classes will take place May 24 and June 7.

This time around, the program came with even more rewards!

Through a donation from Rent-A-Center and an anonymous donor in Montgomery County, the 16 organizations that recently completed the training were eligible to receive a brand new freezer for food storage in their pantries.

This short video shows how the Capital Area Food Bank works with donors and partners to empower those feeding our neighbors in need.

The post Food Education Pays Off appeared first on Capital Area Food Bank.

We want to make sure we always provide healthy options for our partner agencies to help them address both hunger and diet-related issues.

The foods we distribute range from hearty whole grains to fresh, locally sourced produce. But what exactly can you do with these ingredients? Well, we develop delicious recipes!

Recipes give life to ingredients and transform them into healthy meals. The recipes we share with the community show just how committed we are to turning healthy foods into great meals.

Our Healthy Eating Department works with professional chefs who volunteer their time to develop and test each and every one of our recipes.

Every month, partners and food bank staff join our chefs in the kitchen and check to see whether the recipes are up to our standards. We decide how they should be adapted to best suit the needs of our community. After a recipe is tested, we develop recipe cards in both English and Spanish and post them on our website. Soon, all of our recipes will be on our online bilingual recipe card database.

If you are interested in volunteering as part of our recipe development program, or you staff a partner agency and would like to join us for an upcoming recipe testing, please email Haley Baron at hbaron@capitalareafoodbank.org.

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Over 60 representatives from 25 CAFB partner agencies across the Washington, DC metro area gathered on October 19th and November 2nd at Jericho City of Praise in Landover, MD for two full days of training. Topics included program development, volunteer management, promoting healthy food, managing nonprofit finances, wrap around services, safe food handling and distribution methods.

Through Top Shelf, we are fostering the use of best practices across our network in order to increase the number of meals available to those in our community who are at risk of hunger. Participants leave the training sessions with concrete steps they can take to improve their programs immediately, as well as new ideas, methods and even connections for advancing in the future.

As one agency representative from Virginia said, “Top Shelf gave us a clear picture of how all the parts come together to have a successful program. It was very informative and we will be using these skills to collaborate with our community.”

The Capital Area Food Bank is committed to investing resources in all of our partners, especially those who can take the time to improve their programs through training. As such, we are delighted to announce that through a partnership with the national chain Rent-A-Center, we will be distributing 35 brand new freezers to Top Shelf certified organizations in our network.

Some of these freezers will be delivered to organizations that have completed the most recent round of Top Shelf, and the rest will be made available to future Top Shelf certified organizations. As the hub for food sourcing, food distribution, and nutrition education in the Washington, DC area, we are committed to the highest quality service to our partners, who do the vital work that makes our own work possible. Together we’ll build a community where all have access to sufficient nutritious food.

The post Through Top Shelf, All of the Pieces Come Together appeared first on Capital Area Food Bank.

Cooking Matters™ is a groundbreaking nutrition education program that teaches low-income families how to prepare healthy, tasty and budget-friendly meals. Local chefs and nutrition experts volunteer their time to lead hands-on courses that teach adults, teens, kids and childcare providers how to get the most nutritional value on a limited budget.

The food bank is currently accepting applications to host Cooking Matters courses from January 1 through March 31, 2013. Priority will be given to sites that have a dedicated on-site coordinator, scheduling flexibility, the ability to recruit participants and volunteers, adequate demonstration space, and related programs and services.

Does this apply to your organization? Check out the details and apply to be a host site by November 30, or email cookingmatters@capitalareafoodbank.org for more information.

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—Margaret Mead

The last 11 weeks have proven to be anything but a dull summer:

• congressional alterations, cuts, and changes to the entire structure of food assistance some 46 million people in our country depend upon,
• hosting and welcoming Washington Nationals players and even a 2010 Super Bowl champion to raise awareness of the Capital Area Food Bank’s role in the Washington metro area,
• plus, a move of the Capital Area Food Bank infrastructure and staff into a 123,000-square foot new food distribution center in late July.

My panoramic view of the summer leaves me with gratitude for having been accepted as an intern at the Capital Area Food Bank. In particular, the sense of community I’ve witnessed here reveals how and why the Capital Area Food Bank keeps true to its constituents and its mission:

From warehouse workers to Kids’ Cafe educators, from communications and development staff to volunteer coordinators, to Father Eugene Brake’s constant presence and throughout all departments at CAFB, a nourishing community is felt. As American anthropologist Margaret Mead might say about us, we have just that group of “thoughtful, committed citizens” to change our part of the world at least.

These are people who do not cease in diligence, but rather continue to build community wherever their offices take root and food needs remain. I’m just hoping that my time spent in communications and marketing here, of honing, reflecting on and delivering messages of food access and equity will be my first steps on a winding, yet meaningful path.

Sure, there have been moments of deadlines, of balancing internship life with ongoing graduate coursework, with transitioning into the hot, humid and hazy belt of weather that tightens over the Washington, DC area in the middle of summer. Even so, I still feel nothing but gratitude for my immersion here.

Thank you all at the Capital Area Food Bank for making this possible!

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The goal of the Weekend Bag program is to provide supplemental food for families over the weekend. The bags contain any combination of the following: canned fruits, canned vegetables, rice, pasta, tuna, beans, shelf-stable milk, cereal and granola bars.

The partnership between NOBLE and the Weekend Bag program was initiated by Tony Dixon, an active member of NOBLE’s DC Metro Area Chapter, and largely made possible by the efforts and enthusiasm of Meleah Boyle, former Maryland Kids Cafe and Weekend Bag Coordinator.

In addition to NOBLE’s Adopt-a-School initiative, the Washington Metro Area Chapter of NOBLE co-sponsors clothing drives, holiday food distribution drives and various events to bring resources into disadvantaged communities.

Friday, August 3rd was Meleah’s last day working here. Tony made a surprise visit to our beautiful new home at 4900 Puerto Rico Ave. NE and presented Meleah with a civil service award for her ongoing commitment to the program¬¬. The award was a fitting tribute to Meleah’s tenure at the food bank and a thoughtful gesture of gratitude by an organization committed to improving our community.

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The Fuel Your Family Road Trip is an effort to educate adults and children on how they can eat healthy and affordable food during the summer months. Save-A-Lot will travel from July 27 to August 25 and along its route the brand ambassadors attend community events, carry out random acts of kindness, host customer appreciation events at Save-A-Lot stores, visit local Boys and Girls Clubs, and share recipes and tips for quick, easy and affordable meals.

Last year, Save-A-Lot joined with First Lady Michelle Obama and the Partnership for a Healthier America to announce their plans to build 250 Save-A-Lot stores in areas known as food deserts, neighborhoods with limited or no immediate access to healthier foods. The new stores will provide about 3.75 million people each week with healthier food options and create more than 6,000 new jobs in the communities.

In total, Save-A-Lot will donate $33,500 to local Feeding America food banks, giving 268,000 meals for families in need, and distribute 165,000 school supplies along the Fuel Your Family Road Trip route. “Road trips are a family tradition, and with the cost of gas a continued concern for many consumers, we want to show how Save-A-Lot can help ‘fuel your family’ with fresh, quality food, and simple meal ideas at savings of up to 40 percent, compared to traditional grocery stores,” said Andrea Wagner, Save-A-Lot vice president of consumer and brand strategy, product development and Hispanic strategy.

The post Fuel Your Family Road Trip With Sam Kass appeared first on Capital Area Food Bank.

Even in June, the Capital Area Food Bank and Feeding America are joining forces to spread the word about “Hunger Action Month”, taking place this September, to help generate awareness about hunger and help shape hunger relief policies.

The food bank has several activities planned for Hunger Action Month, including the annual Skip Lunch Feed Bunch on Wednesday, September 12. Additionally, the CAFB will encourage the community to wear orange on September 6, National Hunger Action Day, in support of raising hunger awareness and feeding those in need.

Now through September, the food bank is also encouraging you to share your stories on hunger, meeting food needs and favorite food memories on our Facebook page.

Be sure to look out for more Hunger Action Month activities and see how you can help the CAFB in the struggle against hunger. Click here to learn more about what’s going on nationally for Hunger Action Month.

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Marion-Polk Food Share is innovating its way out of hunger with low-cost solutions. It’s protein-infused, veggie patty provides families on assistance with needed nutrients. Furthermore, Marion-Polk gardeners beautify their space with edible landscaping that also yields produce for people in need. These are just a few ideas coming from Marion County, Oregon. What else is out there?

In DC, subsidized public bikes provide greater mobility for the homeless. Getting to and from appointments is a struggle for people with limited to no means of transportation. Thus, the DC Department of Transportation, Capital Bikeshare, and Back on My Feet teamed up to make the city’s Bikeshare program accessible to the city’s homeless. There’s a catch, er, carrot. Participants are required to physically run in sessions conducted by Back on my Feet as well as attend job seminars. If the pilot program succeeds, DC homeless may soon have a cheap, green and easy way to get around the city.

In Philadelphia, there is an app for do-gooders. The Sheltr app for smartphones stores information on local shelters and food pantries. Users have the power in their hand to help those in need of immediate assistance find a shelter or food resource.

We change the world by looking at things differently. What around us can be repurposed and used differently to help others? Just by tweaking one little thing can make a big difference.

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National Nutrition Month is a time to remind ourselves to keep it simple and make healthy eating practical in our everyday lives.

This year’s theme for National Nutrition Month, “Get Your Plate in Shape” is a call to action, to consider the portioning, variety, color, and wholesomeness of the food on your plate, within a given meal or snack. If meals and snacks are balanced, then nutrition in your day will be balanced too.

MyPlate, the USDA’s new icon, provides guidance on what healthy eating looks like. Half of the plate is filled with a rainbow of fruits and veggies, while a quarter consists of whole grains, another quarter with healthy proteins, and dairy is on the side.

In honor of National Nutrition Month, we will be sending out weekly recipes or tips to help support the endeavor to “Get Your Plate in Shape.”

Also, the month will include a “Get Your Plate in Shape” Food Bank Twitter challenge. Stay Tuned!

Finally, I would like to offer a message of encouragement about healthy eating that comes through in the educational programs and trainings offered to food bank partners and the communities we serve: Keep it Simple and Make it Fun.

Like pizza? Take a whole wheat tortilla and top with chopped tomatoes and corn (fresh, canned, or frozen depending on the season), and cheese, and bake in the oven.

Need some protein? Add black beans to your favorite salsa and enjoy as a dip or burrito filling.

Want fruit to be fun? Stack grapes and bananas on a stick and dip in yogurt.

Looking forward to celebrating healthy eating this month!

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