Bread for the City

Let’s do it again!

This summer, we’ve hosted two Free Farmers Markets — one at each of our centers — in which we take it from the pantry to the parking lot to give away thousands of pounds of fresh produce (mostly gleaned from area farms and farmers markets). We have a ton of fun doing it, too—so we want to do it more often.

Our next Free Farmers Market is coming up on September 23rd, at 10 am at our Southeast Center (1640 Good Hope Road).

Previous markets have included not only truckloads of free produce, but also on-site cooking demonstrations, food stamp outreach materials, art stations, an enormous clothing give-away, and more. It’s also a great opportunity for us to demonstrate our rooftop gardens, and to talk about the pleasures and benefits of home gardening.

(See full photo sets here and here.)

“It’s great to see our community come together to share resources and learn about health and nutrition,” says Lynda Brown, our Southeast Center Director.

For the last free farmers market, the Capital Area Food Bank provided us with 3,600 pounds of produce (through a special program that pairs access to fresh produce with educational and outreach opportunities). We ran out of all that food before the end of our first hour!

When they saw that, the Food Bank immediately upped the ante. This time around, thanks to their provisions, we’ll have 5,000 pounds of fresh produce to distribute!

Among other things at the market on Friday, September 23rd, we’ll also have on-the-spot eligibility screenings for SNAP, a local chef teaching clients how to make a delicious raw kale salad, free seeds for clients to plant some of their own herbs and vegetables at home, and lots of samples of healthy dishes with recipes for home cooking.

Many thanks in advance to the Capital Area Food Bank, our volunteers, our staff, and all the donors who make this possible. Will we see you out there on September 23rd?

Bread for the City seeks a part-time Intern to work in our Fundraising/Development office.

The Development Intern will work with all members of the development staff, helping us coordinate events (Good Hope Awards, Help the Homeless Walks) and communicate with the community at large (CFC Fairs, blog posts, social media). The ideal candidate will possess strong communication and organizational skills, and can commit to working a minimum of 16 hours per week for at least 2.5 months. This position is unpaid.

See more about this position at the full posting here. 

We did it!

When we kicked off our Truck Fund campaign this summer, we hoped to raise $5,000 towards a second truck.

Well, thanks to you, we raised nearly $14,000!

The new truck will arrive just in time for the holiday season, so now we’ll be able to include free fresh produce in our holiday bags for the first time ever. This change will save us money, while providing healthier, fresher food for our clients.

Our dedicated community of donors made it possible. Thank you for your great generosity.

P.S. We’ve raised enough to make the down payment on a new truck; but it’s not too late to help us defray the rest of the cost! You can still make a gift to the Truck Fund.

We are delighted to once again host a guest blog post by Amanda Formica, on new directions for guest leadership at Miriam’s Kitchen. 

Radical hospitality has always been at the center of Miriam’s Kitchen’s philosophy toward providing social services, and we often seek guests’ opinions through focus groups and informal conversations.  Last year we formalized our mission to end chronic homelessness in DC, and staff thought that it was time to create a formal venue for guests to provide feedback about Miriam’s.

Many guests share the opinion that their input makes for a stronger organization, and that is how the idea of a Guest Advisory Group (GAG) came about in December of 2010. One of those guests is John McDermott, GAG member and longtime DC resident, activist, and guest at Miriam’s Kitchen. According to John, he comes to the meetings in order to “make it better for the next group of people coming here” to Miriam’s Kitchen.

We wanted to create a group that is open to all guests and staff, which would meet during program hours, would not create favoritism or inequality among guests, and that could provide advocacy training and support. We also wanted to ensure that the group would be a positive, constructive space and that its ideas would be taken seriously by Miriam’s Kitchen staff. “If people make a suggestion they [the organization and the clients] need to be willing to do it,” cautions John.

Guests and staff also agree that advocacy should be an important component of the group. John feels that the group is useful because it “gets people involved in their own recovery,” referring to the idea that advocacy is therapeutic. Adam Rocap, Director of Social Services, feels similarly:

I’ve seen time and time again that when guests are given the opportunity to have responsibilities at Miriam’s Kitchen or in advocacy efforts, the positive effects extend to many areas of their life.

The GAG at Miriam’s Kitchen meets in our dining room once a month to review feedback from staff on ideas and questions from the previous month, plan long-term initiatives, generate ideas for new programs and ways to improve current programs, and create an open space for people to voice their constructive opinions about how Miriam’s Kitchen could improve. It is open to all guests and staff, and typically comprises 5-10 guests and 1 staff member. One person is elected each month to meet with our Executive Director and Director of Social Services to report back on the meeting. Staff provides formal written feedback to questions raised during the meeting each month, and it is given out to guests and staff. A staff member currently acts as facilitator, with the goal for guests to co-facilitate and eventually lead the group.

What have we accomplished since March?

Since the Guest Advisory Group’s first meeting in March, 2011, a number of suggestions have been implemented. John cares a great deal about the outdoor appearance and cleanliness of Miriam’s Kitchen, and he notes that now “we get the steps hosed once a month” even though “we need to get the outside cleaner.”

Miriam’s Kitchen has responded to dietary needs by lowering the amount of salt in our breakfast foods and providing lactose-free milk and oatmeal during the cold months alongside our morning cereal bar. Guests asked for more security outside of the building where we are located, which was an important factor in our recent expansion of security coverage.  Workshops this fall in Spanish and American Sign Language will be offered at the suggestion of the group. Other ideas, such as adding showers, laundry, and an employment program, cannot be done because of space and cost issues.

GAG members are also developing plans for an MK Mentor/Ambassador program where they can take a leadership role with people who are new to Miriam’s Kitchen and to DC by sharing resources and information.  Adam adds that, “The group’s suggestions have been great. Some are things that we would never have thought of, others are suggestions that we have already been considering but now know there is significant desire to see them happen.”

Please look for us on Facebook  and Twitter, and share your client involvement stories, so that we can create a better system for people seeking services and an end to chronic homelessness!

Bread for the City has depended on volunteers since our inception in 1974. Today, more than 1,500 dedicated volunteers help us with our primary care practice, our legal assistance, our gardening, our clothing bank, and of course our food pantry. Simply put, without volunteers, there is no Bread for the City.


Now in its sixth year, the annual Good Hope Awards ceremony is our modest way of saying thank you to those who routinely go above and beyond in their service to the community. This year, volunteers will be celebrated on October 6, 2011 from 6:30-8:30pm at our Northwest Center, located at 1525 Seventh Street, NW.

The Good Hope Awards are open to all Bread for the City volunteers. Come bask in your awesomeness, celebrate your tremendous service, and enjoy some light fare and drinks.

This event is free, but your RSVP is required to attend. Please RSVP by September 22nd to RSVP@BreadfortheCity.org or by calling Emily Schneider at 202.480.8908.

Would you like to honor the work of our volunteers? And even be a Good Hope Awards sponsor? Make a gift for the Good Hope Awards today.

[UPDATE: We're pleased to announce Eastern Market as our newest farmers market gleaning partner! Email us at gleaning@breadforthecity.org if you can help us collect surplus produce from Eastern Market on an upcoming weekend.]

This season, about one hundred volunteers have helped Glean for the City gather more than 20,000 pounds of produce! It’s a great success that has already topped last year’s record.

But we need to keep expanding. Sadly, one of our most prominent gleaning partners, Crooked Run Orchard, are victims of an apple blight that is hitting the regions fruit producers. Sam and Utah Brown estimate that they’ve lost up to 75% of their apple harvest. We wish them the best during this difficult time.

In the meantime, we have to make up for the missed gleaning opportunities. So this Fall, we are focusing on more prominently on local farmers markets. And we need help!

So we’d like to introduce a new, fun Glean for the City volunteer opportunity! Join us for Market Gleaning Parties!

Each Sunday, local volunteers will meet us at several different farmers markets. We encourage you to enjoy the market, have brunch with your fellow volunteers, and plan to take action right as the market ends. As farmers are wrapping up, we will collect leftover produce and bring it all back to Bread for the City’s food pantry — where we’ll sort it for the week to come. During a Sunday Gleaning event we can collect over 2,000 lbs of fresh produce!

We’re currently gleaning regularly from two local markets: West End Farmers Market in Alexandria VA and Bloomingdale in DC.

You’ll need to be able to do some heavy lifting, and you’ll also need to be able to transport from the market to Bread for the City.

We are looking for individual volunteers for this Sunday, September 4th 11:30-4:00pm.

And we’re looking for groups of 3-8 people for the following time periods:

• September 4th 4-6pm
• September 11, 18, and 25th from 4-6pm

Please let me know if you’re interested! Email me at gleaning@breadforthecity.org. Let’s get our glean on!