Friday, June 28, 2024
Earlier today, Friday, June 28, the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy officially launched its new ‘Healthy Corner’ in partnership with DC Central Kitchen. The stand is a powerful step forward for the Academy and Washington Nationals Philanthropies, which continues to expand its food access programming to better serve Wards 7 and 8, an area of the District considered a food desert.
DC Central Kitchen’s Healthy Corners program is a pioneering venture that is sustainably expanding healthy food access in DC neighborhoods with limited to no access to larger grocery stores. The organization works with independent corner stores to provide fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables at wholesale prices and in smaller quantities than a conventional distributor, creating affordable and accessible options at below-market prices for the consumer.
“Our efforts to improve healthy food access together started with DC Central Kitchen supplying meals to the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in 2013 so Scholar Athletes could fuel up for their youth development programming. Then, we launched healthy cooking classes at the Academy taught by our expert school food dietitians, teaching kid-friendly recipes. Now families can purchase the same healthy food at the Academy’s new Healthy Corners location, reinforcing healthy eating and the lasting life skills we teach,” said Mike Curtin, Jr., CEO, DC Central Kitchen.
“The Academy operates youth development programs as its primary purpose, but it also serves as a neighborhood hub that improves access to opportunities for area residents, including offering healthy and affordable food options to our community,” said Tal Alter, Chief Executive Officer, Washington Nationals Philanthropies. “DC Central Kitchen has been a critical partner for more than a decade, and we are thrilled to grow this partnership by adding the innovative Healthy Corner program, which will provide even more people with convenient food access.”
“Food has always had the power to bring people together, and this newest Healthy Corners location at the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy is direct proof of that,” said José Andrés, Chair Emeritus, DC Central Kitchen. “This partnership is bringing healthy, affordable food to more people, helping children play and achieve their potential, and creating opportunities for local farmers and culinary students of DC Central Kitchen. This is the type of initiative I am thrilled to support through my new venture, the Longer Tables Fund, to make our food system more affordable, accessible, and innovative. With leaders like the Washington Nationals and DC Central Kitchen, our community can continue to model the solutions we need in DC and across the country.”
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