GLEANING PROGRAM
Each FRESHFARM Market works in coordination with a gleaning partner. Gleaning is the collection of leftover crops from farmers' fields after they have been mechanically harvested or from fields that are not economically profitable to harvest. Gleaning is often practiced by humanitarian groups that distribute gleaned food to communities in need.
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GLEANING PARTNERS
Miriam's Kitchen in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood has served homeless individuals in the District of Columbia since 1983. Approximately 75 percent of their guests are sleeping on the streets and in shelters. This means that Miriam's may be the only place that they go to for help. Miriam's Kitchen's mission is to provide individualized services that address the causes and consequences of homelessness in an atmosphere of dignity and respect, both directly and by facilitating connections in the Washington, DC community.
DC Central Kitchen, our Dupont Circle partner, uses food as a tool to: 1) "strengthen bodies" by safely recovering unserved food from local foodservice businesses to feed children and adults at partner agencies throughout the greater Washington, DC, area; 2) "empower minds" by providing culinary job training for unemployed men and women and community-service opportunities for youth and adults; and 3) "build communities" by providing working examples, innovative solutions and technology to a cooperative and effective national network of programs that use food to make change in their communities.
Dinner Program for Homeless Women, located in the heart of downtown Washington, DC, has been serving homeless women and their children since 1979, providing a hot nutritious dinner and support services between the closing of women's day programs and the opening of night shelters. The Dinner Program for Homeless Women is a place of hospitality, where any woman and her children may receive an appetizing and nutritious dinner in a stable and safe environment and receive the support and opportunity needed to achieve her full potential.
Through The Kitchen Door, Through The Kitchen Door provides sustainable life skills, empowerment and professional training utilizing culinary arts and techniques to empower teenagers and adults (primarily recent immigrant and low-income women). Designed to enhance professional skills, self-confidence, self-esteem, study habits, healthy lifestyles, cultural respect and adjustment, Through the Kitchen Door training utilizes cooking as a tool to teach home management and health as well as nutritional diet practices. To provide experiential ongoing professional training, they also operate a non-profit catering service that is wholly self-sustaining; widely respected and patronized throughout the metropolitan area; and serves as a model of social entrepreneurship.
U.S. Vets, DC, our H Street NE gleaning partner, is the largest nonprofit organization in the country dedicated to helping homeless and at-risk veterans, and is a nationally recognized leader in the field of service delivery to veterans. The organization provides housing, counseling, job assistance and hope to thousands of homeless veterans each year. US Vets' programs foster the skills necessary for veterans to return to their communities and remain self-sufficient.
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