Our Food Pantry
The Father McKenna Center operates a client-choice Food Pantry four days a week. We offer fresh produce and other healthy items for low-income households, particularly seniors, who are residents of D.C.
Our neighbors
The Father McKenna Center operates a 4-day-a-week Food Pantry for low-income households in D.C.
As our city has redeveloped, many of our long-term residents are experiencing food insecurity. The Center has been meeting these needs since we were founded in 1983, and there is more demand than ever before.
The Food Pantry is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Households seeking food assistance check in with volunteers and have a shopping experience allowing them to select the products they want to meet their specific household’s needs. We find this approach to be rewarding – supporting healthy meals, the dignity of choice, and reducing waste.
Households may visit the Food Pantry as often as every three weeks. We provide food that supports more than 45,000 meals annually. The Food Pantry also builds community – the same families will regularly shop on the same schedule, building relationships with each other and the volunteers. Click here to experience a visit to our Food Pantry
The Father McKenna Center Food Pantry provides an atypical pantry experience by offering both non-perishable and fresh goods. We stock the Pantry with food from the Capital Area Food Bank, private and group donations, and purchases made possible by our donors.
Cash donations are the most flexible way for us to meet the changing needs of the Food Pantry’s patrons. We also welcome organizations holding canned food drives, as we know this reveals the challenge of food insecurity in our communities and promotes dialogue. We do maintain a specific needs list, please contact Ben Hoffschneider for details.
Healthy Meals
Dignity of Choice, Reducing Waste
We believe that reducing a family’s anxiety about putting food on the table, allows space for the grace of sharing, conversation, and care around that table. In the words of our inspiration, Fr. Horace McKenna, “You cannot speak to a person about his or her soul, when they have no food”.
Volunteer
We are looking for volunteers to help “shop”
for canned goods in our Food Pantry
We also need help to stock our shelves and to distribute fresh produce, milk, eggs, meat, and bread. We ask volunteers to help set up and clean up the food pantry area as well. Training is provided.
