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Michelle, a single mother of three whose family participates in the food bank’s Family Markets program, has always believed in the power of nutrition. She strives to put a balanced meal on the table every night, and she’s always loved to cook—meat, fish, beans, veggies, lentils. The food bank’s Family Market program helps her do that.

Join the United States Postal Service for its Annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive on Saturday, May 11. It takes only a moment to help make a big difference for your neighbors.

Volunteers are the beating heart of the Capital Area Food Bank. They’re on the front lines of the distribution process every day. Volunteers provide the essential first step in getting food flowing to the men, women, and children we serve in the Greater Washington Metropolitan area. In honor of National Volunteer Month, here are five amazing things our volunteers helped accomplish this past year!

In a land of abundant food, there is also abundant waste. In fact, 40% of the food produced in the United States goes uneaten. To be a part of the solution to this problem, the food bank has made reducing food waste a core tenant; it’s part of our organizational DNA. Here are a few ways the food bank works to reduce food waste and help more people get access to the nutritious food they need.

Spring is here, and with it comes the food growing season here in our area. One of the ways we grow plants at the food bank is through urban garden plots. These plots are great tools for growing veggies in a city environment, and are another way to provide food for the community!

It’s National Nutrition Month and we honor the culinary imagination it takes to make food go further with what’s on hand. This month, we’re featuring our Carrot Cake Pancakes an example of a way to reduce food waste and provide a fun, nutritious meal.

Providing healthy food to those who need it is an essential part of the food bank’s work, but it’s not the whole story. Pairing that food with education is also important so that people have the ingredients and knowledge to make nutritious, budget-friendly meals. Creating and distributing those recipes, each of which feeds a family of four for $7 or less, is where the food bank’s Nutrition Education team comes in.

The Capital Area Food Bank works with farms all over the region to procure nutritious produce for our partners and programs, so that ultimately our community has better access to healthy foods. One of these partners is Miller Farms.

Each school day, the food bank helps thousands of kids receive a nutrition meal through our Afterschool Meals program. Learn more about the ways we support bright futures in our area.

“Every night when I go to sleep, I’m eager for tomorrow to come, so I can get back to work,” says Joyce Seamans, manager of a food pantry operated by Adventist Community Services of Greater Washington (ACSGW) in partnership with the Capital Area Food Bank. “Every day, I get to help resilient women of many different backgrounds gain access to healthy, nutritious food.”