Joanne Barkett Conway focused much of her own life on improving the lives of others. That work has left a lasting legacy that now, thanks to a significant new gift from her husband William “Bill” Conway, Jr., will only grow larger. William “Bill” Conway, Jr. has committed $10 million to the food bank to address regional food insecurity through one of his philanthropic vehicles, the Bedford Falls Foundation DAF. The gift is a multi-year investment that honors his late wife’s dedication to helping kids, families, and other individuals through her philanthropic leadership. The new funding will s ..read more

Tope Fajingbesi has a consistent standard when it comes to the food that she and her husband, Niyi, distribute from their farm: if any of their produce isn’t of high-enough quality to be sold at a farmers’ market in DC, then it’s not an item that Dodo Farms will sell elsewhere.   For Tope, that standard is about respecting the dignity of her clients, whether they are purchasing produce from her booth at the farmers market in Dupont Circle or receiving produce purchased by the food bank and distributed at one of our partner locations.    Photo credit: Rebecca Drobis “I ..read more

A former telephone switchboard operator from Silver Spring, Cheryl worked all of her life. Then an illness forced her into early retirement.  “I always worked so I never thought I would have to go to a food bank,” she says. “And then I did.”  Seniors in our region face some of the highest rates of food insecurity in the country. For Cheryl and too many others, that can mean tough choices between paying for necessary medications or nutritious food.   “Am I going to let my blood pressure go through the sky and have a stroke or am I going to get the medication?” Cheryl asks. “I go ..read more

A new year is underway. Kick off 2024 with this at-a-glance guide for how to help people in your community each month of the year: January In the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, create your own “Day of Service” by grabbing some friends and signing up for a volunteer shift. February Sign up for our newsletter to receive stories and updates from the communities we serve. You’ll learn how hunger is affecting our community, and how you can be part of the solution. March Volunteer at a Community Market to get a hands-on experience right in your community! Each month, our Commu ..read more

Local farms are a vital part of how we are able to make fresh produce available to our neighbors. Since the establishment of the Local Food Purchase Cooperative Agreement Program (LFPA) in Maryland last year, we’ve been able to significantly ramp up how much we purchase from local growers! Here’s how the year finished up: This season, roughly 2.9 million meals came from local growers. That includes 200,000 meals’ worth of milk and eggs — which we hadn’t been able to offer as frequently. Nia Nyamweya of Beauty Blooms Farm with some giant gourds We worked with 11 new growers and producers in Mar ..read more

Only about half of people who need food assistance are getting it, according to data from our 2023 Hunger Report. We’re dedicated to addressing the barriers to food assistance, so we can reach as many of those in our community who need help accessing enough nutritious food.   But how do we go about doing that? That’s where one of our most powerful data tools comes in: the Hunger Heat Map.   The map helps us to visualize the landscape of hunger in our region, seeing where the highest levels of food insecurity are and where we need to create new food distributions, find new partn ..read more

Giving Tuesday is an annual celebration of global generosity and a chance for people across the globe to make a positive impact. You can make a huge impact right where you live through your support of the Capital Area Food Bank! When you give, you provide critically needed meals for neighbors across the Greater Washington region. Want to learn more about how your contribution can power our work throughout the community? Check out the chart below, and read on! First, our team sources the food. It comes from local farmers like Nia, who will provide enough nutrient-rich, Maryland-grown produce f ..read more

There’s no one who knows the problem of hunger better than someone who has experienced it. That’s why we’ve created the Client Leadership Council (CLC): to empower food-insecure individuals to have a voice in the policy decisions that impact their lives. Through this 10-month advocacy training program, our clients learn how to harness the power of their lived experiences to shape public policy and food bank programming by sharing their stories with media, politicians, and beyond. Get to know several members of our fourth Client Leadership Council class and why they’re participating in this yea ..read more

It’s a brisk fall afternoon, and the food bank’s Urban Demonstration Garden is filled with curiosity and middle schoolers. These Center City PCS students are on a field trip to our garden, where they will spend the day learning about how fresh vegetables get from the garden to their plate. This field trip is the 7th of the year. In the words of Avery Cross, our Food Growing Education Specialist, these trips are designed to “start building a relationship between the students and produce. To help them love healthy food and understand where it comes from.” And it works, too – “I don’t like kale ..read more

Norkris (right) and CAFB President and CEO Radha Muthiah during a Mobile Market food distribution. On a fall day at a CAFB community food distribution in Falls Church, Va., Norkris was working her way through a line to pick up a box filled with fresh greens, fruit, and frozen protein. As she did, she shared bit about her life with our team.  ​ Norkris came to the U.S. in 2020 from her home country of Venezuela with her husband and teenage daughter. Before leaving, she had been a teacher and an administrator with a steady job. But in the U.S., she could no longer find that kind of wor ..read more