Washington, DC – August 2, 2021 – Capital Area Food Bank today announced that is has received a $100,000 equitable food access grant from Starbucks to help increase access to nutritious food among households with individuals who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) residing in communities experiencing high food insecurity rates in the Washington, DC region. The Capital Area Food Bank will use this grant to engage local communities to better understand the barriers to accessing food and will support new or expand existing interventions that can help overcome these obstacles.
“As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, communities that were already disproportionately impacted by food insecurity are at even greater risk,” said Radha Muthiah, President and CEO of the Capital Area Food Bank. “We are proud to work with Starbucks toward our shared goals of addressing the root causes of hunger. With this grant, we’ll be able to continue to address disparities in our communities.”
The Capital Area Food Bank plans to use grant funds to convene members of the communities it serves to gather insights on its program models and inform future service delivery in ways that are centered on the needs of its clients. The grant will also be used to explore the expansion of the food bank’s Mobile Markets program, which provides direct, low barrier access to nutritious foods in local communities.
“For the last 50 years and still today, Starbucks believes it is our role and responsibility to help strengthen the communities we serve, and in partnership with Feeding America, we are tackling hunger with a focus on equity,” said Camille Hymes, vice president of community impact at Starbucks. “The equitable food access grants are a unique opportunity to combine efforts with our Community Stores across the country, which are specifically designed to support historically under-resourced communities through local partnerships and economic opportunity, to increase access to nutritious meals for those that need it most.”
Capital Area Food Bank, a member of the Feeding America® network, is one of 16 food banks to receive this funding from Starbucks. The CAFB was identified based on the location of a Starbucks Community Store which are committed to economic development and opportunity in historically under-resourced communities. Since 2016, Starbucks has helped to provide more than 27 million meals* to people facing hunger through its FoodShare program in partnership with Feeding America. The company has also invested $2.69 million in mobile pantry programs across the country since 2019.
To learn more about how you can join the fight to end hunger, visit capitalareafoodbank.org
###
About the Capital Area Food Bank
The Capital Area Food Bank works to address hunger today and create brighter futures tomorrow for the over 500,000 people across the region experiencing food insecurity. As the anchor in the area’s hunger relief infrastructure, they provided over 75 million meals to people in need over the past year by supplying food to hundreds of nonprofit organizations, including Martha’s Table, SOME – So Others Might Eat, DC Central Kitchen, Food for Others, Manna, and others. They also work in partnership with organizations across the region to address hunger’s root causes by pairing food with other critical services.