Food insecurity — when someone doesn’t have access to enough healthy food to meet their needs — affects 11 percent of D.C. residents. As summer starts, the problem grows worse for many families because school breakfast and lunch programs come to an end. And with food costs still rising across the United States, people are feeling the burden of food insecurity in a notoriously expensive District. Despite the challenges of accessing healthy and low-cost nutrition, many local groups and advocates are helping D.C. residents find free and affordable food this summer. A patchwork system of shelters, charitable organizations, and nonprofits has sprouted in D.C. to help residents access hot meals, find healthy ingredients, and qualify for nutritional assistance programs. Here are some places to look for food and food assistance this summer.
Hot meals
Across D.C., several organizations offer free meals — including continental breakfasts, grab and-go lunches, and dinners for people staying at shelters.
All city-funded low-barrier shelters serve dinner and breakfast to residents, though hours may be limited. Harriet Tubman Women’s Center in Anacostia, for example, offers a free continental breakfast from 5 to 7 a.m. and dinner at 5 p.m. (with the opportunity for a second helping at 7 p.m.) to women sleeping at the shelter. According to one of the shelter’s phone operators, the shelter doesn’t offer lunch.
In an email to Street Sense, a representative from D.C.’s Department of Human Services (DHS) wrote free lunches are available daily at a few day centers Monday- Friday — Downtown Day Services Center (11 a.m -1 p.m.), Adams Place Day Center (12:30 – 3 p.m.), and Bethany Day Center (12 – 1 p.m., for women only). Bethany Day Center also provides breakfast from 8:45 to 9:45 a.m. on weekdays, again for women only. The Church of the Epiphany, which operates as a shelter during the winter, offers a cafe-style breakfast between 7:30 and 9:30 a.m. on Sundays.
Miriam’s Kitchen also serves breakfast and dinner — from 6:30 until 8 a.m. and from 4 until 5 p.m., respectively — at 2401 Virginia Ave. NW.
Martha’s Table’s McKenna’s Wagon program delivers meals 365 days per year at New Jersey Ave. and I St. NW from 5:15 until 5:40 p.m. and at 19th St. and H St. NW, from 6 until 6:25 p.m. (exact times can vary based on traffic).
Additionally, So Others May Eat (SOME) offers breakfast and daily grab-and-go lunch at 75 Hanover Pl. NW between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. SOME also has a food pantry next door (behind 60 O St.) that is open on Wednesdays and Fridays between 9 and 11 a.m. An ID is required for entry, and people can use the pantry up to once a week.
The Food & Clothing Center of Ward 7, located at 4929 Ames St. NE, also offers meals Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Meals here are provided by appointment only. Make an appointment at (202) 398-5504.
Food banks and markets
Aside from meals, access to healthy groceries is also important in reducing food insecurity. LaMonika Jones, director of D.C. Hunger Solutions, a group that advocates for affordable food access, recommends turning to Capital Area Food Bank and Martha’s Table for grocery support. Together, the organizations hold monthly “Joyful Food Markets” at more than 50 elementary schools in Wards 7 and 8. Each child receives a free 15-pound bag of groceries at the markets, 70 percent of which is produce. The markets include music and dancing, along with cooking and nutritional support. Joyful Food Markets will be open Tuesday through Friday from 1 until 3 p.m. beginning on June 25. The locations rotate, with Tuesday markets held at the Fort Stanton Recreation Center (1812 Erie S.t, SE) and the Woody Ward Recreation Center (5100 Southern Ave. SE), Wednesday markets at Martha’s Outfitters (2204 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE),
Thursday markets at Deanwood Recreation Center (1350 49th St. NE), and Friday markets at Bening – Stoddert Recreation Center (100 Stoddert Pl. SE).
Martha’s Table also operates two additional community marketplaces: The Commons Lobby Market, which is located on Elvans Road in Southeast D.C., and The Maycroft Lobby Market, located on Columbia Road in Northwest D.C. Both locations are open to the public between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays.
Bread for the City also has a food pantry program, which is open Monday through Thursday between 9:30 a.m. and 12 p.m., and between 1:30 and 4 p.m. Both Bread for the City locations (1525 7th St. NW and 1700 Good Hope Rd. SE) operate during these hours. People seeking groceries need a government ID and proof of household size (only one bag of groceries is provided without proof of household size.)
On Thursdays, Central Union Kitchen offers free groceries, as well as clothing and small appliances such as lamps, eating utensils, and kitchen appliances, from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. at its Comprehensive Family Resource Center located at 3194 Bladensburg Rd., NE, Suite B.
Additionally, Capital Area Food Bank operates a central food distribution center in Northeast D.C. and gives food to over 400 locations across D.C., Maryland, and Virginia (a map of locations can be found at https://www.capitalareafoodbank. org/find-food-assistance/). The organization also brings lunches to children during the summertime, offers meals to kids enrolled in afterschool programs, and delivers groceries to seniors (qualifying seniors must be over 55 for the Brown Bag program or over 60 for the Grocery Plus and My Groceries to Go programs).
Capital Area Food Bank also operates a hunger lifeline for people urgently needing food, which helps callers find local emergency food assistance near them, at (202) 644-9807, or via email at [email protected].
Additional food access support
The D.C. Food Project, a nonprofit dedicated to helping D.C. residents access healthy food, offers a list of additional food distribution sites organized by ward at https://dcfoodproject. org/emergency-food-access. While many have limited hours (three of the four distribution centers in Ward 4 are only open on Tuesdays), there are 70 locations across all eight wards.
In light of the high cost of food in D.C., many organizations have sought to help in other ways. D.C. Hunger Solutions, for example, offers support for individuals and families applying for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides monthly benefits to help pay for groceries. Jones said people experiencing homelessness, in particular, may face hurdles accessing governmental food assistance programs, so people who need help with SNAP benefits can go to https://www.dchunger.org/training-and-outreach/.
“We provide training for individuals that are experiencing homelessness on how they can access SNAP,” Jones explained. “Some of the challenges that we see is having a regular address or having a dedicated phone number.”
Jones also emphasized food insecurity and housing insecurity often go hand-in-hand; people experiencing homelessness often struggle to find healthy sources of food, and people struggling to access nutritious meals often lack stable housing.
“We have to look at all of those different intersections of housing, food, hunger, and poverty. We have to look at all of that,” Jones said. “We can’t silo ourselves in just assessing food.”
If you have a recommendation for somewhere else readers can go to access free food in D.C., let us know by emailing us at [email protected].
