Construction is underway on DC Central Kitchen’s brand-new, 36,000 square foot headquarters! The Michael R. Klein Center for Jobs and Justice will allow us to dramatically expand programming and provide the resources necessary to breaking the cycle of hunger, poverty, and injustice.  

Our new home, along with the Bringing the Kitchen Home campaign that will make it a reality, comes at a critical moment. DC Central Kitchen is needed now more than ever. By moving from a shelter basement to a dignified new home worthy of our mission, we can meet that challenge. We’re also pleased to announce another challenge: a matching donation that will double all gifts to this project, up to $250,000!

You can hear from celebrity Chefs Jose Andres, Rock Harper, and Spike Mendelsohn about why they’re helping make this vision a reality. Our project has already been named Washington Business Journal’s Lease of the Year. You can find measurable goals, design renderings, and more thoughts from our campaign leadership at bringingthekitchenhome.org. 

But this space will also have a transformative impact on the daily efforts of our staff to serve others. We asked leaders from across our organization what this centralized and dignified space means for their ability to fight hunger and empower our community on a daily basis. 

“On the Culinary Job Training team, we pride ourselves in treating our students with dignity and respect. The Klein Center provides those same characteristics by showing our students that they deserve a beautiful environment where they can learn, grow, be challenged, and feel like they belong. And with this larger space we’ll be able to expand our enrollment by 150%!” 

– Ja’Sent Brown, Chief Impact Officer

“In this new space, we can consistently give volunteers an experience focused on building and strengthening the community through meaningful interactions. We were intentional about the design, from the physical structure of our volunteer kitchen space to our dedicated People Experience Team, who will welcome our volunteers into the kitchen and make sure they feel valued, supported, and appreciated.”

 – Dr. Tee Okasi-Nwozo, Chief Human Capital Officer

“Our transportation team is excited and eager to transition into our new facility particularly because of the indoor loading dock which is something we’ve never had. The dock will majorly help us with loading and unloading the company trucks on an even flat surface and keep drivers safe from working out of the elements.” 

– Chris Lucas, Director of Transportation

“As a program built on partnerships across the city, the Healthy Corners team is looking forward to having a warm and inviting place to deepen our collaboration outside of DCCK. We want to welcome other organizations and businesses and even be able to show them a Healthy Corners display.” 

– Yael Reichler, Healthy Corners Program Manager

“Our Contract Meals and Nutrition teams are excited that we’ll be able to double our kitchen production and be able to prepare more than 25,000 meals every day at the Klein Center. We can expand to serve more schools and connect with our new Buzzard Point community. Our teams are also looking forward to having windows and being able to see the weather in real time.”

-Ed Kitowski, Director of Contract Meals and Nutrition

“The Procurement and Sustainability team is excited to advance our tracking of food waste and efforts to reduce that waste. This new space allows for greater opportunity to train on composting food scraps and expand our composting practices and even includes a new biodigester.”

 – Jackie W., Procurement and Sustainability Manager

“The Community Development and Partnerships team is so looking forward to moving into the Klein Center! Our team is new, so having a new centralized home is a great opportunity for reimagining collaboration within our community. Ultimately, the Klein Center will provide a great space where DCCK and partner organizations can host meetings, events, and activities for our DC community designed to improve quality of life.”

– Dana S., Community Development and Partnerships Manager

We couldn’t be more excited to be only months away from completing our biggest project yet: opening the most ambitious community kitchen and urban food hub in the United States! But we need help in completing the remaining 10% of our fundraising goal that not only meets construction and rent costs but funds the expansion of our crucial programming.

Thanks to an anonymous donor, all gifts to our Bringing The Kitchen Home campaign are being matched up to $250,000. Please consider helping us close this final gap with a donation!