The Capital Area Food Bank is the largest organization in the
Washington metro area
The Washington metropolitan area, also referred to as the National Capital Region, Greater Washington, or locally as the DMV (short for District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia), is the metropolitan area comprising Washington, D.C., the fed ...
working to solve hunger and its companion problems: chronic undernutrition, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. By partnering with over 450 community organizations in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia, as well as delivering food directly into hard to reach areas, each year the Capital Area Food Bank is helping nearly half a million people each year get access to good, healthy food.
In fiscal year 2015, the food bank provided nearly 45 million pounds of food—the equivalent of 36 million meals—to the region. In addition to food, the food bank also provides
nutrition
Nutrition is the biochemistry, biochemical and physiology, physiological process by which an organism uses food and water to support its life. The intake of these substances provides organisms with nutrients (divided into Macronutrient, macro- ...
education and cooking classes, empowering those it serves with the information and skills to shop for and cook healthy meals on a budget.
Counties served by Capital Area Food Bank include Washington, D.C.; Montgomery, Maryland; Prince George's, Maryland; Arlington, Virginia; Fairfax, Virginia; Prince William, Virginia; Alexandria (City), Virginia; Fairfax (City), Virginia; Falls Church (City), Virginia; Manassas (City), Virginia; and Manassas Park (City), Virginia.
The Capital Area Food Bank operates with the assistance of 21,000 volunteers annually,
[ who donate their time to help sort food, teach classes, and perform other important functions for the food bank.] The food bank is a member of Feeding America
Feeding America is a United States–based Nonprofit organization, non-profit organization that is a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks that feed more than 46 million people through food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and other c ...
.
History
The Capital Area Food Bank was officially incorporated on October 24, 1979,[ but it considers its founding date to be January 15, 1980, coinciding with ]Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...
's fifty-first birthday. Prior to that time, the United States government's Food Stamp Program
In the United States, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is a Federal government of the United States, federal government program that provides food-purchasing assistance for Poverty ...
had been the city's primary source of assisting hungry residents. However, cutbacks in the Food Stamp Program planned for the early 1980s led to the food bank's inception by two local organizations, the United Planning Organization and the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington. In its first year of operation, the food bank managed to offer food to almost one hundred organizations and deliver 1,540 pounds (700 kilograms) of food each month. Throughout the rest of the 1980s, the Capital Area Food Bank proceeded to prosper as it partnered with nearby corporations, such as ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
''.
In 1991, the Capital Area Food Bank opened a new warehouse in the Brookland neighborhood in northeast
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—eac ...
Washington, D.C
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
. The new warehouse is more than three times as large as the food bank's original warehouse and continues to serve the Capital Area Food Bank today.
In 1998, the food bank opened another warehouse, in Lorton, Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
, which has since served the needs of residents of Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several County (United States), counties and independent city (United States), independent cities in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. ...
.
In 2004, the first ever Blue Jeans Ball – then called the Farmer's Blue Jeans Ball – was held at Catholic University.
In 1981, just over one million pounds (460,000 kilograms) were processed by the Capital Area Food Bank. Less than 25 years later, in 2005, the food bank outputs over 20 million pounds (9 million kilograms) of food to over 275,000 people, making it the largest food bank in the area.
In 2007, the Capital Area Food Bank distributed 20 million pounds of food and served approximately 383,000 people in the Washington metro area.
In 2012, the Capital Area Food Bank moved to the Bedford Falls Foundation Distribution Center, allowing the organization to dramatically increase its distribution of good food and expand its education spaces.
In 2013, the 8,000-square foot Urban Demonstration Garden, a food growing and education space housed behind the food bank, finished its first season.
In 2014, the Capital Area Food Bank increased its reach to 540,300 people with 42 million pounds of food. The newly launched Fruits and Vegetables Fund for Greater Washington, through which the food bank contract grows fresh produce with local farmers, concluded its first full growing season with support from the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation.
In 2016, the food bank put a new food acceptance policy in place that prioritizes foods lower in sugar and salt and higher in fiber. With help from its retailers, junk food donations dropped by 84% in one year.
In 2017, information about affordable cooking was made accessible for thousands more people when the food bank's recipe cards – which show how to easily prepare a delicious, healthy meal for a family of four for $7 or less – were rolled out in all of the area's 93 Giant stores.
Political importance
Due to its central location near the seat of the United States government
The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States.
The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...
, the Capital Area Food Bank has been a popular stop for politicians. Four consecutive U.S. presidents – George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
, Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
, George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
, and Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
– have visited the food bank.
In 1990, sitting president George H.W. Bush banned broccoli from Air Force One
Air Force One is the official air traffic control-designated Aviation call signs, call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. The term is commonly used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modifie ...
, stating, "I do not like broccoli. And I haven't liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it, and I'm President of the United States. And I'm not going to eat any more broccoli." In response to the ban, an estimated ten tons of broccoli were sent to the White House, which Barbara Bush
Barbara Bush (; June 8, 1925 – April 17, 2018) was the first lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993, as the wife of the 41st president of the United States, George H. W. Bush. She was previously second lady of the United States fr ...
in turn donated to the Capital Area Food Bank. That same year, the president visited the food bank and incorporated it into his Points of Light Foundation
Points of Light is an international nonprofit, nonpartisan organization headquartered in Georgia, United States dedicated to engaging more people and resources in solving serious social problems through voluntary service.
Each year, Points ...
.
On Inauguration Day
Between seventy-three and seventy-nine days after the presidential election, the president-elect of the United States is inaugurated as president by taking the presidential oath of office. The inauguration takes place for each new president ...
, 1993, more than thirty-five thousand cans, including one from Tipper Gore
Mary Elizabeth "Tipper" Gore (née Aitcheson; born August 19, 1948) is an American social issues advocate. She was the second lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001 through her marriage to the 45th vice president, Al Gore in 1970, from who ...
, were collected for the Capital Area Food Bank. In 1999, President Bill Clinton visited the food bank to volunteer and George W. Bush duplicated that act in 2002. Likewise, less than two weeks before Super Bowl XXXVIII
Super Bowl XXXVIII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2003 Carolina Panthers season, Carolina Panthers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2003 New England Patriots season, New E ...
in 2004, U.S. First Lady
First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is a title typically held by the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never been codified or officially defined ...
Laura Bush
Laura Lane Welch Bush (née Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American educator who was the first lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009 as the wife of George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States. Bush was previously the fir ...
visited the Capital Area Food Bank to encourage Americans to participate in charitable activities. Other politicians have shown their support for the food bank by donating or otherwise promoting the cause of the Capital Area Food Bank. In 2005, for example, Maryland and Virginia Congressmen
A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The ...
Chris Van Hollen
Christopher Van Hollen Jr. ( ; born January 10, 1959) is an American attorney and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Maryland, a seat he has held since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the U.S. re ...
, Steny Hoyer
Steny Hamilton Hoyer ( ; born June 14, 1939) is an American politician and retired attorney who has served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for since 1981. He also served as House Majority Leader from 2007 to 20 ...
, Jim Moran
James Patrick Moran Jr. (born May 16, 1945) is an American politician who served as the mayor of Alexandria, Virginia, from 1985 until 1990, and as the U.S. representative for , including the cities of Falls Church and Alexandria, all of Arl ...
, Frank Wolf, and Albert Wynn were successful in requesting US$
The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
1.3 million in federal funds for the food bank.
Client Leadership Councils at the Food Bank
The Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) is notable for pioneering the use of Client Leadership Councils (CLCs) in their programming efforts. CLCs are steering committees composed of two-dozen food insecure people in the greater D.C. area that rely on CAFB and their network of partners for consistent access to healthy and nutritious foods. Over the course of 9 months, CLC members are put through a series of training programs designed to teach them how to tell their story, contribute to advocacy efforts, interface with the press, and influence CAFB and governmental policy and programming.
CLC members are selected through a thorough application and interview process. Any individual over the age of 18 who resides in the food bank's service area, faces food insecurity, and uses CAFB's services (or those of their distribution partners) is eligible to participate. CAFB works with their non-profit partner network to solicit applications from a wide variety of eligible candidates. Each applicant is then interviewed to ensure they meet the criteria, and that the group at large is widely representative of the larger clientele population.
CLC meetings begin in September and run through May, with members participating in 3-day-long training sessions on a monthly basis. During each session members participate in skill-building workshops, hear from experts working on food security issues, and ultimately make programmatic and policy recommendations to CAFB staff and local public officials. As the months progress, they then work collaboratively with CAFB staff members to implement approved changes. All CLC members are paid a living wage for time spent in program events, and their transportation to all events and meetings is heavily subsidized or fully covered.
Thus far the CLC program has had a significant effect on the ways in which CAFB and local lawmakers combat food insecurity in the region. They have influenced policies like the Virginia Dream Act and secured funding in the DC Mayoral budget through initiatives like Fair Shot DC. Additionally, they have expanded and helped refine the CAFB distribution network, facilitated the introduction of fresh produce to complement monthly food boxes, and have helped CAFB better understand nutritional needs as they vary by age and ethnicity within the clientele population.
See also
* Feeding America
Feeding America is a United States–based Nonprofit organization, non-profit organization that is a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks that feed more than 46 million people through food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and other c ...
– the nationwide food bank
A food bank or food pantry is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distrib ...
network that includes the Capital Area Food Bank
* List of food banks
This is a list of notable food banks. A food bank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. So ...
References
External links
Capital Area Food Bank
Feeding America - Find Your Local Food Bank
United Planning Organization
Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington
{{authority control
1979 establishments in Washington, D.C.
Food banks in the United States
Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.
Organizations established in 1979