Funding to support organization’s new strategic direction is one of the largest investments in the food bank’s history.
Washington, DC — January 27, 2020 — The A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation has made one of the largest investments in the Capital Area Food Bank’s 40-year history via a $3 million multi-year grant. The funding will support the food bank’s new strategic direction of providing both food to address hunger today while also establishing programs and partnerships that address the root causes of hunger and food insecurity tomorrow.
“This investment will be absolutely transformational as we commemorate our 40th anniversary year,” said Radha Muthiah, Capital Area Food Bank president and CEO, “particularly because it supports both our new strategic initiatives and the operational capacity that will make it possible for those initiatives to be successful. We’re thrilled and humbled by the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation’s commitment to supporting the people we serve, and to building a stronger, more equitable region through this funding partnership.”
The Clark Foundation’s investment in the food bank will be used to improve the lives of families, infants and young children, and other individuals experiencing food insecurity across the Washington metropolitan region. The funding provides support for a variety of pilot programs, including an initiative that connects expecting and new mothers with healthy food during pre- and post-natal visits, and a pilot grocery truck that will bring affordable groceries directly to communities where traditional retail outlets are in short supply. The grant is also an investment in the capacity and operational infrastructure of the food bank, and includes support for data development, technology improvements, staff capacity, marketing, and other areas that provide a backbone for effective program delivery.
“What’s on your table and in your pantry can make a world of difference to your ability to fulfill your full potential,” said Ryan Palmer, Director of DC Community Initiatives with the A. James & Alice. B Clark Foundation. “Helping set members of our community up for a lifetime of success is a core part of our mission, and that has to start with good food. We’re proud to invest in the future of our region by supporting both the food bank’s innovative, visionary work, and the nuts and bolts of effective operations that are the platform for overall success.”
The A. James & Alice. B Clark Foundation partners with grantees who build practical, immediate and concrete connections between effort and opportunity, and focuses its investments in areas that include educating engineers to solve society’s toughest problems, supporting veterans and their families, and providing members of the DC community the best opportunity to thrive.
The Clark Foundation expands opportunities for those who demonstrate the drive and determination to better themselves and their communities. A. James Clark was the president of Clark Construction Group, which transformed the landscape of Washington, D.C. with its many projects. Along with his wife of 65 years, Alice, Mr. Clark was dedicated to giving back to the communities where they lived and worked.
About Capital Area Food Bank:
Now commemorating our 40th anniversary year, the Capital Area Food Bank works to address hunger today and create brighter futures tomorrow for the nearly half a million people across the region experiencing food insecurity. As the anchor in the area’s hunger relief infrastructure, we provide over 30 million meals to people in need each year by supplying food to 450+ nonprofit organizations, including Martha’s Table, SOME – So Others Might Eat, DC Central Kitchen, Food for Others, Manna, and others. Through these partnerships, the food bank supports 10 percent of our region’s mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, and grandparents.
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