As the temperature begins to drop, local food banks start gearing up for the winter months.
While most providers receive an abundance of donations through Thanksgiving and Christmas, the post-holiday months leave nonprofits scrambling.
“Post-holidays are tougher for us in terms of food donations,” said Martha Cunningham, food donations coordinator for D.C. Central Kitchen. “People want to give a lot around the holidays.”
D.C. Central Kitchen, one of the largest food banks in the region, launched its “Virtual Turkey” program three years ago to combat the imbalance of donations.
Instead of donating an actual turkey the Central Kitchen — often they would get too many to distribute over Thanksgiving — they ask donors to give the price of the turkey. The program lets D.C. Central Kitchen buy food for distribution throughout the winter and not just during the holidays.
“Feeding people on Thanksgiving and Christmas is important, but people are hungry 365 days a year,” Cunningham said. “This makes the donations more effective by giving us something we can use year-round.” The program has averaged $6,000 the past two years. This year’s Virtual Turkey launches on Nov. 1 with a goal of $12,000.
At the Capital Area Food Bank, which provides food for more than 700 nonprofits in the region, one high-profile holiday event brings in most of the food for the entire winter. The food bank’s annual “Stuff a Truck” event typically collects between 70,000 and 90,000 pounds of nonperishable food in one day.
But the organization usually supplements those donations by purchasing additional food to ensure they can meet the needs — if barely — of their clients, food bank Chief Operating Officer Brian Smith said. “We’re usually able to meet the need through fall, winter and spring … ” Smith said. “But we never have enough food. It’s just the nature of what we do.”
