File:DC Central Kitchen, welcomes the United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and his wife to the DC Central Kitchen in Washington D.C on December 19, 2023 - 19.jpg

English: U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack takes part in a seated conversation with DC Central Kitchen (DCCK) leadership and partners at the DCCK headquarter in Washington D.C., Dec. 19, 2023. Vilsack visited DC Central Kitchen in Washington, D.C., a nonprofit and social enterprise that combats hunger and poverty through job training and job creation. He underscored ongoing efforts by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) under the Biden-Harris Administration to expand access to fresh, high quality, and nutritious food and meals in communities like the District of Columbia and others across the nation. This includes through USDA programs such as the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), which supports local organizations like DC Central Kitchen and strives to improve dietary health through increased consumption of fresh produce, improving individual and household food security, and reducing health care use and associated costs.

DC Central Kitchen specifically has used a GusNIP award to help increase availability of fresh produce at corner stores around Washington, DC, which helps alleviate food deserts and makes those stores accessible to individuals who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). DC Central Kitchen is also using this grant to increase the amount of locally sourced produce that makes up those healthy offerings.

Secretary Vilsack was joined by Mike Curtin, CEO of DC Central Kitchen, DC Central Kitchen graduates, corner store operators, and local farmers whose supply chains have been bolstered through this program.

Efforts like this one are key aspects of the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, which committed to ending hunger and reducing diet-related diseases, and health disparities by 2030. (USDA photos by Christophe Paul)