For my outside enrichment experience, I volunteered with DC Central Kitchen. As a meal prep volunteer, I filled pans with applesauce, prepared trays of turkey, and rolled meatballs. Other volunteers cooked big vats of beans, made trays of mashed potatoes, and processed the meat for the meatballs. The day I went, there were fewer volunteers than usual, but that worked out because there were also fewer tasks to complete.
Before looking at places where I could volunteer at, I had never heard of the DC Central Kitchen. As their website states, the organization provides “hands-on culinary job training for individuals facing high barriers to employment while creating living wage jobs and bringing nutritious, dignified food where it is most needed.” DCCK has many programs, such as providing meals for shelters and nonprofits from wasted food, training people in culinary arts, serving farm-to-school meals in DC schools, and working with shops in small neighborhoods to provide produce. The whole premise of DCCK is one that I had not heard of before, however I believe this kind of organization and facility should exist everywhere. Not only do shelters and nonprofits get quality, balanced meals to serve, people also get the opportunity to learn how to work in a kitchen (and get paid to do so).
The mission of DCCK is very much related to the idea of flourishing: “DC Central Kitchen’s mission is to use food as a tool to strengthen bodies, empower minds, and build communities.” It is extremely difficult for a person to live their best life when they are hungry or facing food insecurity. Though I enjoyed the simple tasks I was assigned to, it was just as satisfying to see physical evidence of how I could improve a stranger’s life in a small way.
Given the nature of the work and the venue, there was not a lot of opportunity to chat. Plus, the station I was assigned to did not involve working with a non-volunteer, unlike some of the other stations. Instead, one of the staff just told us what to do and how many trays to prepare before moving on to manage another part of the kitchen. I did get to talk to an older volunteer and two freshman volunteers from GW while we were all rolling meatballs. The woman was a retired lawyer who volunteered fairly frequently with DCCK—usually in a teaching capacity, though I did not get to learn what her class was about.
Back home, I did a lot of volunteering (primarily through my church), but since coming to DC, I have only done one other non-GU related volunteering event. I enjoyed having the outside motivation to seek out a volunteering opportunity here. After this experience, I feel more inspired to pencil in more shifts with DCCK as my schedule permits. My current class and practice schedule makes weekdays more difficult to handle, but I can at least sign up for some of the weekend shifts before they fill up.
Photos can be found on the DC Kitchen Facebook and Instagram pages
