"Feeding the Soul of the City"

As I talked about previously, on my first day of my internship I struck up a conversation with a lady waiting at the bus stop with me. She was heading the same direction and we talked while we waited. She asked where I was interning this summer. Upon telling her I was working for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention she told me the story of her brother who completed suicide years ago and thanked me for my work. I occasionally saw here every once in a while on the bus throughout the summer.

Towards the end of my stay in D.C., I was looking for an opportunity to volunteer for a day in the city. I participate in service activities quite frequently in Columbus. Considering the large homeless population in D.C. I was especially eager to pay it forward to the city that had been so generous to me all summer.

I had remembered that the lady from the bus stop worked at a nonprofit organization downtown. The last time I met her I asked if there were any volunteer opportunities available. It turned out that she works at D.C. Central Kitchen (near 2nd and E NW), which, as they put it, “Feed the Soul of the City.” She was surprised that I wanted to volunteer on my own, and that is not mandatory for my internship. Finally, she told me to come in any day I was available at 9 a.m. and that there would be plenty of work for me.

Last Saturday I ventured to D.C. Central Kitchen; it was honestly one of best service experiences I’ve had. The workers in the kitchen were fantastic, always willing to lend a hand, and their humor made the day go by in a flash. I learned that many of chefs went through a program the kitchen offers to help those attend culinary school if they cannot afford it. I also got the opportunity to meet all of the other volunteers which included a group of college students from Ireland, a girl from the University of Washington in Seattle (where I am looking into graduate school), and others from around the D.C. area.

At the end of prepping and preparing the food we made an assembly line and packaged the food to be distributed across the city. All together we helped to make over 60 giant containers of food. I definitely recommend that future fellows spend one of their weekend mornings at the kitchen. It was one of my most rewarding and eye-opening experiences in D.C. this summer!

- Jenn