Restaurant Neighbor Award 2008 Finalist
District of Columbia

Thinkfoodgroup
Washington, DC

Empowering the homeless with job training and transitional support is one of the best ways to make a long-lasting difference in the lives of others. That’s why THINKfoodGROUP has for more than a decade supported the DC Central Kitchen, a nonprofit that aims to eradicate hunger and homelessness in the District of Columbia. As the restaurant group grew to six locations across the D.C. area, each new restaurant became involved with DC Central Kitchen fundraising. In 2004, celebrity chef José Andres, executive chef of the THINKfoodGROUP concept Jaleo, created the Capital Food Fight. The annual event features live “battles” between local and celebrity chefs and has raised more than $1 million for DC Central Kitchen in the past five years — translating into 69,000 meals served plus the cost of running the kitchen's culinary job training for two years. Washingtonian magazine dubbed it “the crème de la crème of foodie events.” Over the same five-year period, THINKfoodGROUP contributed $100,000 to DC Central Kitchen, donated countless volunteer hours teaching in the Kitchen’s job training program, helped prepare the 4,500 meals the shelter serves each day, and enlisted the help and support of other area chefs.

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