Staff from DC Central Kitchen unload donated supplies from a truck.
At the annual Taste of Thanksgiving event hosted by the U.S. Department of State last Thursday, foreign ambassadors and their families gathered at Blair House to share in the American tradition of Thanksgiving and celebrate the power of food to bring people together.
DC Central Kitchen’s Director of Kitchen Operations, Chef Rahman “Rock” Harper, sets out cans of food for diplomats and their families to assemble into bags that will be distributed to homeless and low-income men, women and families for Thanksgiving.
As part of the event, which featured gourmet Thanksgiving fare provided by American Chef Corps members Chef Art Smith, Chef B. Smith and Chef Richard Hetzler, guests were invited to participate in a service project to benefit DC Central Kitchen. And thanks to a generous donation from Walmart, diplomats and their families assembled 600 reusable tote bags filled with yams, green beans, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes and stuffing.
This donation has allowed DC Central Kitchen to extend our annual Thanksgiving efforts beyond the 5,000 traditional Thanksgiving meals prepared for local shelters. The bags will be distributed through First Helping, DC Central Kitchen’s street outreach program, which serves breakfast to homeless and low-income men and women and helps them find homes, jobs, and new beginnings. Bags will also be distributed to current students and alumni of our Culinary Job Training Program.
DC Central Kitchen thanks Walmart – a longtime partner that has provided more than $1.1 million to support life changing programs – and the State Department for helping us to provide all our clients with a taste of Thanksgiving this year.
