April 14, 2005
State Legislators Slice, Dice and Learn New Solutions to Hunger
Innovative program uses restaurant leftovers to feed needy
WASHINGTON, D.C. - State legislators on Thursday got an inside look at a program that uses restaurants' leftovers to help fight hunger in the nation's capitol. Wearing hairnets and plastic aprons, they learned from the formerly-homeless students in the DC Central Kitchen how to properly dice vegetables for broth and salad. And from the program's founder, they learned new options for tackling hunger at home.
The D.C. Central Kitchen both feeds homeless people and trains those who are interested to be certified food handlers in area restaurants. The students prepare the food utilized by other community programs that serve hungry and low-income residents.
"What we're trying to do here in this kitchen is get a dialog started," said Robert Egger, president of the DC Central Kitchen. "These things are there in every community. There's a kitchen that's underutilized. There's food being thrown away. And there are people who want to work."
Egger, a former nightclub manager, founded the kitchen in 1989. As one who sees America's non-profit, humanitarian efforts as scattered, he strives to stretch community resources by combining them in the Central Kitchen. Egger urged state lawmakers to do the same -- to find ways to put money from churches, businesses, local, state and federal sources together.
"We don't serve 4,000 meals a day because one hotel says, "come and get it." This is little contributions coming together in a big way," Egger said. "Don't accept the non-profit experiment as it is. It's essential to have a discussion on how we're allocating our resources."
The kitchen keeps busy. Hunger, Egger says, is a big problem in America. Experts estimate that one in five children are hungry. And 40 percent of the nation's Meals on Wheels programs have waiting lists. Those lists are expected to grow, as the Baby Boomer generation ages.
"The critical needs ahead of us are very sobering," said Georgia Rep. Nan Grogan Orrock. "The Baby Boomers aging is really going to hit home." Orrock appreciates learning about the kitchen's "holistic" approach to curbing hunger.
So does Oregon Rep. Jeff Kropf, who told founder Egger, "The strength of America is that so many people are willing to give of themselves for others. You're not just giving people a fish. You're teaching people to fish. I think this program is a model for others."
New York Assemblyman Felix Ortiz plans to use some of these ideas. "All politics are local," he said. "We have to bring this back home."
Approximately 30 legislators from the United States and Brazil took part in this trip on the opening day of the National Conference of State Legislatures' annual Spring Forum. The trip was part of NCSL's new Hunger and Nutrition Partnership, which is funded by The UPS Foundation. The goal of the partnership is to engage a network of state lawmakers in improving nutrition and curbing hunger.
NCSL is a bipartisan organization that serves the legislators and staffs of the states, commonwealths and territories. It provides research, technical assistance and opportunities for policymakers to exchange ideas on the most pressing state issues and is an effective and respected advocate for the interests of the states in the American federal system.
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