The Food Fighters
DC Central Kitchen’s First Twenty-Five Years on the Front Lines of Hunger and Poverty
by
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Half a mile north of the US Capitol sits a crumbling blue and grey building. The length of a full city block, its four floors are carved up between a shelter, a drug rehab program, and a medical clinic. Around back, past the litter-strewn gravel lot, is a dark hallway open to the outside air. A battered old owl decoy perches on an older radiator, trying in vain to ward off the pigeons that flutter in looking for a break from the weather. The pigeons aren’t scared, but many people might be. Those who step into that poorly lit hallway, hang a sharp right, and lean into the heavy door marked ‘DC Central Kitchen’ are looking for something. Some are homeless adults looking for a meal. Others are former felons who heard about a job training program that would give them a fair shot, despite their records. Many are volunteers hoping to do a little good, or earn a little redemption. A few have been US presidents, first ladies, cabinet secretaries, and Nobel Prize winners—sometimes seeking photo opportunities, other times searching for solutions to problems no white paper could answer. This book is not a triumphalist tale of one plucky nonprofit defeating all comers. Rather, it is a story of the men and women who chose to lean into that heavy door each day, plunging into a kitchen packed with shouting chefs, clanging pans, boiling kettles, and second chances cooked from scratch. These people made bold choices and big mistakes as they built a nonprofit organization that defied every lazy stereotype and demeaning assumption associated with the individuals and organizations in the business of doing good. Far from being simplistic martyrs, this story’s ‘heroes’—such as they are—include addicts, egoists, and convicts. Yet by working together, they have engineered a model that turns the rough raw ingredients of leftover food and unemployed adults who have known little else besides failure, crime, and drugs into a liberating enterprise designed to not just fight hunger, but to end it. There have been many nonprofits and social enterprises founded upon compelling ideas. Few of them have turned those concepts into tangible, lasting results. The difference, it seems, is less the intended model—though that certainly matters—than the skills, decisions, and steadfast commitment of those charged with implementing it. This book is entitled The Food Fighters because, ultimately, it is about the people who made the Kitchen possible.
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About the Book
Robert Egger wasn’t impressed when his fiancée dragged him out one night to help feed homeless men and women on the streets of Washington, DC. That was twenty-five years ago, and it wasn’t that the cocky nightclub manager didn’t want to help people—he just felt that the process was more meaningful to those serving the meals than those receiving them. He vowed to come up with something better.
Egger named his gritty, front-line nonprofit DC Central Kitchen, and today it has become a national model for feeding and empowering people in need. By teaming up with chefs, convicts, addicts, and other staffers seeking second chances, Egger has helped DC’s homeless and hungry population trade drugs, crime, and dependency for culinary careers—and fed thousands in the process.
Written by a DC Central Kitchen insider, The Food Fighters shows how Egger’s innovative approach to combating hunger and creating opportunity has changed lives and why the organization is more relevant today than ever before. This retrospective goes beyond the simplistic moralizing used to describe the work of many nonprofits by interviewing dozens of DC Central Kitchen leaders, staff , clients, and stakeholders from the past two-and-a-half decades. It captures the personal and organizational struggles of DC Central Kitchen, offering new insights about what doing good really means and what we expect of those who do it.
“The women and men of DC Central Kitchen are in the business of changing lives. I have felt first-hand the energy and enthusiasm in that basement kitchen, and it’s infectious. This book is a testament to what is possible when we break down stereotypes, rethink old models, and challenge ourselves to become true agents of change.”
—Carla Hall, co-host of ABC’s The Chew
“Robert Egger and DC Central Kitchen … changed my life, and I have never looked back. Their story will open a door to a new way of thinking about bringing dignity and hope to those in need.”
—José Andrés, James Beard award winner, chef and owner of ThinkFoodGroup
About the Author
Alexander Justice Moore is an experienced nonprofit development professional and a recovering academic. This is his first book. Moore earned a master's degree from Georgetown University and lives in Washington, DC, with his beautiful wife and obese cat.