capital area food bank

AMS Deputy Associate Administrator Karen Comfort, Feds Feeds Families’ 2014 National Program Manager, tells the crowd that the campaign delivered 14.8 million pounds of donated food that went to food banks and pantries across the country.

Federal Employees Help to Knock Out Hunger

When I became National Program Manager for the 2014 Feds Feeds Families campaign—the sixth annual, nationwide food drive of Federal employees—I challenged Federal employees nationwide to help knock out hunger by supporting this year’s initiative. I had every confidence that our Nation’s civil servants would step up in a huge way. Feds have a tradition of generosity and answering the call whenever, wherever, and however they are needed. Even so, this year’s results far exceeded my expectations: 14.8 million pounds of donated food went to food banks and pantries across the country. That’s 7,400 tons of food this year.

Since 2009, the campaign has donated almost 39 million pounds of food to families and individuals in need. All Federal agencies across the country participated. Federal employees donated both perishable and non-perishable food items throughout the summer. This year Feds Feed Families also encouraged employees to take advantage of gleaning (clearing fields of unused produce).

Karen T. Comfort, Feds Feed Families National Program Manager, Agricultural Marketing Service Deputy Associate Administrator/Chief Operating Officer Posted in Food and Nutrition

Oct 15, 2014

2 Responses

Shelves of food at the Capital Area Food Bank in Washington, DC. The food bank has seen a 25 percent increase in demand since the start of the recession three years ago. Photo courtesy Geoff Livingston.

Then and Now, USDA Feeds the Nation

During the holiday season, food banks across America experience a spike in demand and this year is no different. Today that seasonal demand is also bolstered by a significant rise in client numbers because of the current U.S. economy.

One of those food distributors seeing an uptick in demand is the Capital Area Food Bank, a food hub with more than 700 partners that distribute commodities to locations in the District of Columbia, northern Virginia and parts of Maryland.

Rex A. Barnes, AMS Deputy Administrator, Poultry and Eggs Program Posted in Food and Nutrition

Dec 21, 2011

2 Responses

Celebrity chef and author, Art Smith, joins Sesame Street’s Elmo in a healthy and affordable cooking demonstration during the unveiling of a new Sesame Street Workshop initiative, Food for Thought: Eating Well on a Budget. This free bi-lingual (English-Spanish) multimedia outreach initiative, with funding and partnership support of UnitedHealthcare and The Merck Company Foundation, is designed to help support families who have children between the ages of two and eight, cope with uncertain or limited access

Food For Thought Initiative Improving Nutrition and Fighting Hunger

There was plenty of warmth and goodwill keeping a bitterly cold Washington morning at bay as I joined the folks at Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street, at today’s rollout of their Food for Thought: Eating Well on a Budget, multi-media outreach initiative. The educational outreach materials are designed to help support families with children between the ages of two and eight, by nurturing their overall development through good nutrition to create positive outcomes that will last a lifetime. The campaign is aimed at the nearly one in four American children–seventeen million, based on our own USDA Food Security Report estimates–who don’t get the food that meets basic nutritional needs due to difficult economic or social conditions. There couldn’t be a more appropriate time, given our current economic circumstances, or a more fitting place to have the discussion than on Sesame Street, the best known street in the world, with Elmo and friends, some of the best known characters in America.

Kevin Concannon, Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, USDA Posted in Food and Nutrition Initiatives

Dec 08, 2010

Respond to this story

The USDA and Department of Energy Team Up to Fight Hunger

By Stacy Porto, Special Assistant

Federal employees from across the country are coming together to do what the USDA does every day – increase food security and reduce hunger by providing low-income people access to food.

Inspired by President Obama’s United We Serve Act, the Feds, Farmers, and Friends Feed Families food drive began as a response to serve in your own community. USDA is leading the effort and Secretary Vilsack reminded us that while the needs of those who are hungry are great, “our opportunity to make a difference in their lives is also great.” No one should go hungry, and no one should be without access to healthy, nutritious foods.