His words continue to call us to do right. 

As the staff gathered in the food bank’s conference room, many shared their experiences working at the food bank.  A new member of the CAFB family, Roxann Seals, offered the following sentiments:

“On December 12, 2011, I became the 100^th member of the CAFB.  In my short time here I have been welcomed and made to feel a part of the CAFB family!

With the expansion of the food bank, I have the opportunity to be a part of history. I have a passion for life and moving forward; I am so very pleased to be part of the team that is moving the food bank forward to its rightful place as the premier food bank in the country!”

So heeding Dr. King’s word, we here at the food bank recognize the overwhelming suffering that people in our community face today and dedicate our energies to ensuring that all may eat and be a part of this grand family called the United States of America. 

With any purchase of Unto Others Jewelry, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the CAFB. 

Wharton partnered with the food bank earlier this year to help raise awareness about local hunger and has participated in numerous CAFB initiatives. 

So show off your unique sense of fashion and help the thousands of families, children and seniors in our community struggling to get one of life’s most basic needs – food.

Today marks the inaugural Food Day, an initiative created by the Center for Science in the Public Interest to inspire Americans to think about their relationship with food.  Modeled after Earth Day, Food Day is intended to generate recognition of the challenges we face in changing the way we think about, produce and consume food in America.  The goal of Food Day is to start a movement to “Eat Real” in communities across the country –  it is the hope of Food Day activists and organizers that today will mark the beginning of the transformation of the American Diet.

To celebrate Food Day, the food bank’s Harvest For Health Department has teamed up with the National WIC Association to provide gardening and healthy eating education to mothers and children at a WIC Clinic in Anacostia.  Participants will learn how easy, valuable and fun gardening can be with children, and better understand how gardening can help grow healthy eaters at a young age.  We will read great gardening children stories, learn about what plants need to grow, transplant peas to grow in a sunny windowsill and taste fresh and easy to grow produce.

Today’s celebration serves as a great marker of the work that the Capital Area Food Bank and all of our partners do daily!  Everyday, the agencies that we work with create access to food and feed those struggling with hunger in the Washington metro area.  The food bank’s commitment to fresh produce and partnership with regional farmers increases the availability of real and equitable food in our warehouse.  The education and capacity building initiatives of our programs raise awareness about healthy eating and living.  All of these things and more empower us daily to feed hope, nourish change and create sustainability, making the work of the food bank an example of Food Day’s Guiding Principles in action!

Visit the Food Day to learn more about how you can join the “Eat Real” movement and take a moment to encourage Congress to support Food Day’s goals by clicking here.

Happy Food Day!

Governor McDonnell packs bags for seniors in need.

The Capital Area Food Bank recently teamed up with The Virginia Federation of Food Banks to bring Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and Virginia State Delegate Mark D. Sickles to CAFB partner agency ALIVE Inc. in Alexandria, Virginia. 

The Governor and Delegate Sickles volunteered packing food as a part of the state wide legislator volunteer day for Hunger Action Month.  This visit gave the Capital Area Food Bank and ALIVE Executive Director Ken Nasar the opportunity to educate the Governor on hunger problems in the State of Virginia, while he packed  groceries for seniors in need.

Virginia State Delegate Mark Sickles lends a helping hand.

The Governor expressed gratitude to The Capital Area Food Bank and its partner agency ALIVE Inc. for helping residents in need in Northern Virginia.  The Capital Area Food Bank is thankful to Governor McDonnell for visiting Northern Virginia to learn about hunger.

If you or someone you know is in need of food please call 202-526-5344 and ask for the Hunger Life Line.

In the shadow of the nation’s capital, hunger can be found in schools, on playgrounds, in assisted living facilities, and more recently in manicured homes of middle-class families.  Here in the Washington metro area, hunger is not distended bellies or sunken eyes – but children who look forward to school, not to learn, but to eat school meals; seniors who have to choose between eating or buying medicine; and parents who work multiple jobs but still struggle to feed their families. 

CBS Evening News recently reported this epidemic in a segment featuring The Capital Area Food Bank and partner agency Children on Mine, Inc.

We are facing a hunger crisis in the Washington metro area and across the nation. Hunger in our region has increased by more than 25 percent since 2006 and affects 640,000 individuals, including one out of every two children in the nation’s capital. This threatening economy is impacting not only the poor, but the middle class, as well.  

Food is the most basic human right and we must work together to ensure that all have access to quality, nutritious meals – three times a day.  Help the food bank nourish those in need.  To make a donation, please click here.  Or to volunteer, please click here.

Thank you to all of those who skipped lunch on Wednesday, September 14 to help feed our neighbors struggling with hunger.  The food bank really values your support. 

A special thanks to  Ambassador Against Hunger Paul Wharton, DC50 WDCW-TV and The Washington Examiner for supporting the Skip Lunch Feed A Bunch campaign; and to the following restaurants that pledged 10 percent support on September 14:   Napoleon, Peacock Cafe and Tuscana West.

You can still donate and help those in need.  Since September is Hunger Action Month, donations will be accepted through September 30.  To donate now, please click here. 

Sitting down to three meals a day shouldn’t be a choice.  But over 640,000 residents in the National Capital Region are forced to choose daily. 

The Capital Area Food Bank is partnering with Plum District to raise money for our organization.

The busiest people in the community—moms—are often the most plugged-in.  And for them, the Internet is often the best tool to (re)discover what’s in their own backyard.  Plum District was created just for them.  Plum District connects moms with daily deals and inspirations from businesses in their community, and helps them get the most out of their day—for their families and for themselves.

Sign up now for daily offers from your local favorites. Just click on the link below:

Plum District will donate $3 to the Capital Area Food Bank for each new subscription using the link above.

Fundraiser ends August 28, 2011

Thanks for supporting Capital Area Food Bank!

Thanks to a strong partnership with the Langley Park Community Center – part of the Prince George’s County Department of Parks and Recreation, and the quick thinking of its Facility Director, Lourdes Sulc – the long line of clients were moved indoors to wait in the air conditioning until their numbers were called.

Seven dedicated volunteers handed out food from 10:45 AM-1:30 PM as the temperatures rose.  Four of the volunteers were students at Furman University in South Carolina.  Even their experience in the southern heat didn’t keep them from breaking a sweat!

It was all worth it to see the senior citizens and families accept the bountiful selection of produce provided by the food bank at absolutely no cost to the clients or the host site.  High-quality potatoes, onions, lettuce, watermelon and peppers filled the carts and bags of each client who entered the line.

The distribution at Langley Park is part of the food bank’s Mobile Food Pantry Program.  This program directly benefits from the funds raised in the Fresh Produce Campaign, which aims to provide the community with more than 15 million pounds of nutritious fresh produce this year.  The distribution at Langley Park clearly demonstrates the need for these programs and the value that people have for the service.

The next time you find yourself sweating at 8 AM and reaching to turn up the air conditioning, think of the people at the Mobile Food Pantries, braving the heat to feed themselves and their families with healthy food.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwoXTg7yXzg

The Capital Area Food Bank is launching a one million dollar campaign to underwrite the cost of acquiring 15 million pounds of fresh produce and distributing it to our partner agencies.  Our goal is to reaffirm our commitment to provide wholesome fruits and vegetables to those we serve.

We are in the midst of a hunger crisis here in the Washington area and across the nation.  The food bank’s transportation and food costs have increased by 30 percent in the last three months.  Hunger in our region has increased by more than 25 percent since 2006 and  people who are at risk of hunger exceeds 640,000 here in the metropolitan area.  That includes one out of every two children in Washington, DC, the  nation’s capital.  This economy is impacting not only the poor, but the middle class. 

People are losing homes, are working two and three jobs to make ends meet, and many are unable to find work.  In the past ten years, 50,000  manufacturing plants have closed throughout this country and 8 million jobs have disappeared and with these troubling realities, Congress is proposing $800 million in cuts to nutrition programs and cuts to many of the programs that have helped to create a vibrant economy and a strong, robust and healthy nation.

We find ourselves in the perfect storm.  If the food bank is not able to find additional funding, we deeply regret that we will be forced – for the first time in our 31-year history –  to pass along to our partner agencies a shared maintenance fee of 10 cents a pound for fresh produce.  While this fee is a fraction of the value of fresh produce,  it is an enormous new financial burden for our agencies, especially the smaller and more vulnerable ones.

 The Capital Area Food Bank is looking to you, our community, to ensure that this incredibly important fresh produce program will continue as it has in the past. Your trust and support will lift a burden and will ensure that we and our agencies can continue to help feed the 480,000 people that we serve annually though our network of  programs

 Your support is urgently needed.  Please make your donation on-line and designate that you want your contribution to support our fresh produce campaign.

Now through July 24^th, Safeway is providing a quick and easy way to make a difference in your community.  While visiting your local Safeway store, pick up a pre-filled bag of groceries at the Help Us End Hunger display, purchase the bag full of food for $10 and place it in the Capital Area Food Bank collection box at the front of the store. The bags will be donated to the CAFB and distributed to those in need.

Each bag contains: Spaghetti, Canned Tomatoes, Canned Vegetables, Toasted Oats Cereal, Macaroni and Cheese, Creamy Peanut Butter, Instant Mashed Potatoes, Chunk Light Tuna.

Stop by one of the five Safeway locations below this Saturday, July 16th between 11am and 3pm to see our CAFB volunteers in action!

1. 5200 Randolph Road Rockville, MD 20852
2.  6500 Piney Branch Road, NW Washington DC
3.  1100 4^th St SW, Washington DC
4.  3526 King St, Alexandria, VA
5.  6244 Old Dominion Drive, McLean, VA

You can make a difference by donating a much needed bag of food now through July 24^th at your local Safeway store!

Want to learn more about volunteering at the Capital Area Food Bank? Click here.