Author Archive

By Zachary Davidson
Editorial Intern

The interns jumping into the dumpster as a security guard yelled at them over a megaphone.

Some of you may have noticed the ad that appeared in the last issue of Street Sense. “We’re lucky to have a home…but our chairs needs some help.” It included a picture of a couple of broken chairs here in our humble office (where all the magic of Street Sense happens, sort of like a Santa’s workshop for news.)
Well, I am pleased to announce, with a little bit of nagging and some dumpster diving, our need for chairs has been satisfied.
Next door to our place here at the Church of the Epiphany, some neighbors in a well-appointed office building began discarding some of their office equipment into a large yellow dumpster in the alley. Right from our window we spotted a growing heap of office chairs. They looked far better than ours!
And being a staff of resourceful nonprofit interns, it did not take long before some of my colleagues and I took action. We descended into the dumpster.
But, almost instantly, we were spotted by a security camera, a voice began yelling at us from a megaphone on the side of the building. “Get out of the dumpster!”
Respectfully and sheepishly, we ran back into our office like giggly naughty children.
But my theory is what is your trash could be my treasure, especially if I’m an intern who is lucky to have half a desk to share with someone else and your beautiful office building has its own waterfall (which, for all of its impressiveness, just makes me need to find the nearest restroom). If you don’t want my dreams to come true at least let me recycle for you; you were just going to throw it out anyway.
My colleagues agreed. And two of them went back to the office building to ask if we could have the chairs. They were told that we had to go through a donations department in order to try to claim them.
By then, I had made it my mission to get those chairs. The next morning I went to the office building and told the nice woman behind the front desk who I was and what I needed. I asked whom I should speak with. I can only assume the very helpful receptionist either took pity on me or just wanted to get me out of there. She gave me the name and number of another person I’ll call Mr. R. Initially Mr. R. insisted to me that the chairs were broken and useless, to which I responded that our standards were quite low. Not long after, a fresh dumpster of chairs hit the pavement. With an OK from Mr. R. I was back in the dumpster. I handed the likeliest chairs to my colleagues who were waiting outside the dumspter. They swiveled each chair around and tested them. We hauled the best ones back here to our office where we are enjoying them as I write. I have been leaving grateful voicemails for Mr. R.
I’m not sure what he thinks of me. “Is there something else you want?” he asked. “Well, what do you have?” I asked in reply. So far we have only gotten the chairs, but I’m crossing my fingers for a water cooler and a new mouse.
You hear that Mr. R?

By Zachary Davidson
Editorial Intern

Lorrie Hayes may have been nervous to be featured in Street Sense, but she didn’t miss a beat when she paused to reapply her lip gloss.
As Vendor 351, Hayes learned of Street Sense from another vendor. She was fortunate to have joined the vendor staff in May 2010 by the time her apartment burned down in November and she became homeless.
In her spare time, Hayes works as a desk clerk at the shelter in the Northwest district where she now lives. Her application for a housing program is being processed, and she is hoping for positive results from her interview back in June. Hayes plans on one day going to school. She would like to work as a nursing assistant or in medical billing and coding.
When it comes to her customers, Hayes said, “I love my customers,” she said. “They are very good to me and know me on a first name basis. I’m their favorite vendor. I always ask them, ‘You having a good day?’ I think people really like the good morning. They are on this hum-drum — on their way to work and then they encounter me. I wake them up! ‘Good morning would you like to make a donation today?’ It’s like a little breath of fresh air. It’s wonderful to make them smile! We laugh together, sometimes hug, and I see them off to work.”
Hayes said that she doesn’t let anything bring her down. She looks forward every morning to keep on staying positive and moving forward.
Hayes sells Street Sense at 13 and G during Tuesday and Thursday early morning rush hour until the early afternoon.

By Hannah Traverse
Editorial Intern

A reliable Street Sense vendor since the paper was launched in 2003, Phillip Howard, vendor number 14, has now been recognized by Catholic Charities as a reliable tenant, too.
In September of 2008, Howard moved into a Minnesota Avenue apartment operated under a Catholic Charities permanent supportive housing program. Howard is still in the same apartment today. For his commitment to the housing program and his ability to consistently stand out as a model resident, Howard received a certificate from Catholic Charities at a festive ceremony in Anacostia on Friday, July 8.
For Howard, maintaining a good record has just been a matter of following the rules and having faith in God. Howard says he does not understand howsome of his neighbors could abuse their supportive housing contracts through drug use and vandalism.
“They want to do their own thing, but it don’t work like that,” said Howard. “You’re part of a program…you go out too far, and the law will step in…you’re still on somebody else’s property. You’re just renting.”
Howard, who lived in the Franklin School shelter before moving into his apartment, enjoys the freedom his apartment allows. He likes having the option to just watch TV or listen to music and then have some quiet time lying down or reading. Howard enjoys
the Guinness Book of World Records and anything that describes happenings that are “strange, but true.”
Having his own apartment has also allowed Howard to hone his cooking skills and learn to prepare healthful meals that can help him manage his diabetes and high cholesterol.
Howard, who said he has witnessed and read about many incidents that he believes show the power of God, prays every morning, thankful for what he has and to see another day. He tells himself, “if you don’t have it – be happy. And if you do have it – be happy. Be wise, though.”

By Helen West
Assistant Vendor/Volunteer Manager

Being a vendor isn’t easy. The weather is often too hot or too cold. Sometimes you don’t sell any papers, and many passersby just aren’t very nice. But Street Sense can also be a rewarding job. There are those beautiful days when you sell a lot of papers, and your favorite customers stop by to chat. The Street Sense Vendor for a Day program allows volunteers to experience work as vendors. It teams volunteers with established vendors, who guide them through a day selling the paper. The vendor who leads the team of volunteers receives the profits earned. After several hours of selling, we asked students from Colorado Springs who volunteered as vendors for a day in June to share their experiences. Their church youth group asked that we not use their last names, but here are some of their comments:
Nathan, 16, wrote, “Street Sense broke and changed my perceptions, such as [that] all homeless are lazy and/or unwilling to better themselves in this world. Both Veda and Tommy, Street Sense vendors, were homeless, yet they stood on the side of the street selling papers from early in the morning to late at night, a true definition of American determination and perseverance. They weren’t panhandling. They were creating their own enterprise, their own business, and now both Tommy and Veda are living and supporting themselves with a place to call home. Their stories broke every stereotype that I concocted, and now I realize that great people sometimes have to jump huge hurdles. God challenges the strong, but all these hurdles and these challenges are only to make them stronger. If you can overcome homelessness, there’s not much you can’t conquer.”
Chalise, 16, remarked, “It is not easy standing in the heat trying to get people to buy a paper, and I only made $5.70 an hour!! This experience humbled me, and Veda showed me how very blessed I am.”
Clay, 16, wrote that upon receiving his papers, he thought, “Only 10?! I’ll fly through these and grab 20 more.” Clay quickly realized how wrong he was. “I had no idea how rude people could be. When I would make eye contact or start speaking to them, their cell phone would suddenly need to be talked on, despite the fact that there was no ring. The persistence and patience it takes for the vendors to stay out there all day and sell is something magnificent.”
Nick, 16, said, “Street Sense was a great experience. Selling newspapers is harder than it looks!”
Breanna, 15, remembers the experience as “eye-opening, and stereotype breaking…. We got to talk with the vendors on a personal level and got a small but powerful taste of what they go through everyday just to get by.” She recalls some words of advice from her vendor, Veda: “Don’t let the bad things in life hold you back; let them be reminders of how blessed you are.”
Dawna, 14, remembers the lessons she learned from her vendor, Tommy. “It is okay to let people know who you are and just let your light shine proudly…. Being yourself is great, even when you want to run away from that. Only you can shape your destiny around what you want.”
Zach, 14, sold by an ATM and “a bunch of free newspaper dispensers,” a place where no one usually buys papers. Still, Zach sold six papers and says volunteering “really gave me an idea of helping and respecting others. This pushed me toward God and His word by showing me there are always two sides to things.”

Hannah Traverse
Editorial Intern
When school lets out, the last thing a kid wants to do is sit inside. Running through sprinklers and climbing on monkey bars might seem like the perfect way to spend a sunny afternoon, but what if you are a child whose family has bare cupboards in the kitchen? A kid who relies on free school lunches?
Each school day, the National School Lunch Program provides free or reduced-price meals to more than 30,000 students in the D.C. Public Schools. Fortunately, the D.C. Free Summer Meals Program allows these children, who comprise some 70 percent of all DCPS students, to still receive daily, nutritious meals even when schools are out.
For the past 7 years, the District has led the nation in providing free summer meals to low-income children through the federal Summer Nutrition Program, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. According to the Food Research and Action Center, more than 28,000 children participated in the D.C. Free Summer Meals Program in July 2010. This means that about 80 percent of children that received free or reduced-price meals during the school year also received free summer meals. Nationwide, only about 15 percent of children who received meals in the 2009–2010 school year also received summer meals.
“In some areas, there just hasn’t been enough of a priority put on running these programs,” said Alex Ashbrook, director of D.C. Hunger Solutions, a District-specific organization founded by FRAC. “Across the country we’re seeing cuts in camp programs, schools closing. This is going to affect the program.”

Lunchtime at Emery Recreation Center this summer is provided thanks to the DC Free Summer Meals Program, funded by the federal Summer Nutrition Program. Lunches like this fill the void for students who usually recieve free or discounted lunch at school during the summer months spent out of school.

While budget cuts may leave many states struggling to find sites to host summer meal programs, the District had a plentiful 270 sites in July 2009 and 317 sites in July 2010. A similar number of sites are operating for 2011. Many entire states, including Arizona, Mississippi and Colorado, do not have as many meal sites as the District.
D.C. meal sites include schools, recreation centers, libraries, churches and Boys and Girls Club locations. Unless a camp program is involved, children do not need to be registered at a specific site to be served; any eligible child 18 and under who drops by a site at the designated mealtime is fed.
To notify families about the summer meals program, D.C. Hunger Solutions produces posters and other marketing materials, as well as public service announcements for both TV and radio. This year, the organization also launched a service that allows families to simply text 202-6565-EAT for information on where to find the closest meal site.
“If we don’t make a concerted effort, the educational achievement gap widens, the hunger gap widens and we’re really doing a disservice to the community,” said Ashbrook, commenting on the importance of making sure lower income children do not fall through the cracks during the summer.
“Summertime, unfortunately, in our country, is the time in the year in which children…are at the highest risk of going hungry,” said Kevin Concannon, USDA Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, in a conference call. “We know as a country we have the capacity to end hunger. We need systems as well as the will to do so.”
The District’s system of providing free summer meals depends heavily on the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation. This summer, the DPR is operating about 200 meal sites, making it by far the largest sponsor of the D.C. Free Summer Meals Program. Among these 200 locations are about 60 “affiliated sites,” which includes recreation centers and camps run directly by the Department. Many of the remaining sites are small operations, such as vacation bible camps, that only provide meals for a week or two. The DPR visits these sites to determine their suitability and then provides operational and food safety training before any meals are distributed.
According to Ashbrook, much of the food circulated in the D.C. Free Summer Meals Program comes from the D.C. Central Kitchen. Food from the 45 meal sites run by the DCPS may also come from such DCPS food vendors as Revolution Foods and Chartwells.
This school year, DCPS set new standards for its meal program, inspiring changes in how summer meal programs are run. Meals made to DCPS standards are free of high-fructose corn syrup and artificial trans fat, are never fried and are served with only hormone- and antibiotic-free skim or one percent milk.
“Parents have been very supportive,” said Jeff Mills, director of DCPS Food Services. “There was a little pushback in the beginning…. The menus changed 180 degrees, so some of the foods were very new to many students.”
The summer menu at DCPS meal sites is no different than the school year menu. Kids served at these sites may receive baked tilapia, broccoli and cheddar brown rice pilaf and spinach lasagna. Most meals come with a fresh piece of fruit.
The DPR also recently revamped its menu to ensure students are receiving more nutritious food. Mark McCain, director of the DPR Summer Feeding Program, said that while in previous years kids may have received sandwiches and potato chips for lunch, now they are served wraps and chicken Caesar salad.
“We’re dealing with younger kids who’ve never had a salad before. They’ve had tomatoes and they’ve had lettuce; they’ve just never mixed them together and put Parmesan cheese on top,” said McCain. “We really tried to create an environment in which the kids can take something home…maybe ask their parents to buy the right ingredients to make some of the food they eat during the day…. We’re happy to introduce them to another way of eating.”

by Erin Durkin
Editorial Intern
Working away in the small hot kitchen amid dozens of volunteers busy serving the homeless, is one of the D.C. area’s top chefs.
Terrence Brown, the executive chef at Thrive DC, has already had a career preparing meals for Washington’s elite. But he says he is happier here pampering the poor and hungry at this day shelter in Columbia Heights. Brown was named one of the top 75 chefs in Washington D.C. when he was working at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in 1982. He has an album full of pictures of celebrities who have savored his fine cuisine. But he wanted to use his skills to make a difference.
“I really enjoyed serving the homeless and eventually I made that my full time job. I just enjoy seeing smiles on the clients’ faces,” said Brown.
Most of his clients know him for his Southern “down home soul food cooking.”
“He’s been working with the women’s group and they love him. The ladies love his liver and onions,” said Trenett Smith, a client at Thrive.
In fact, when you ask most of the clients at Thrive, they will name liver and onions as their favorite meal. But Brown has a secret about this particular dish.
“A lot of people here like liver and onions. I can’t stand liver and onions. But every Thursday I make it for them,” he said.
His favorite, he said, is making lasagna. “I love Italian.”
As he prepared a menu of garden salads, assorted pastries, boiled eggs, corn beef hash, and fresh fruit on a recent day, a woman approached him asking for brown hair dye.
“I might have some in my back office,” he said.
It is odd to think that a chef would have hair products in his storage room, but according to Brown he has been ordering hygiene products from the Capital Area Food Bank for years. Before dinner, he will have a drawing for soaps, shampoos, and even cupcakes before people come forward for the food.
For this article, Brown made sure to wear his full chef’s uniform, complete with white jacket and toque. On other days however, he can be spotted in a blue Thrive T-shirt and black pin-striped pants.
“It is just way too hot in that kitchen,” he said.
Indeed, when one enters the cooking area the temperature jumps twenty degrees. And the burners of the stove are not even lit.
Meanwhile, kitchen helpers are busy cutting and mixing fruit for a fruit salad. The heavy air fills with the scent of mangoes.
The kitchen itself is nothing fancy.
Directions on how to sterilize the sink are taped to the back wall with blue and yellow flowers.
Though his work conditions might not be glamorous, Brown ensures that he not only creates good dishes but that he also learns each client’s preferences. He makes sure he includes menu options for those who are diabetic or have high cholesterol.
According to Marzieh Behzadnejad, who has been going to Thrive since 1985, Brown includes vegetarian dishes with each meal.
“His eggplant parmesan is to die for,” she said in her thick Iranian accent. “I cannot eat hot and spicy food and he always includes mild things.”
Brown does not reserve his culinary skills for the Thrive kitchen. Recently, he participated in the 8th Annual Blue Jeans Ball held at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. The event earned over $300,000 for the Capital Area Food Bank, whhich Brown said provides most of the shelter’s food.

by Rhonda Brown
Volunteer

Feds Feed Families is a national food drive to raise food for Americans struggling with hunger. It began in 2009 as part of President Obama’s United We Serve campaign and was designed to help food banks and pantries stay stocked during summer months, when donations decline and the need for assistance rises. As the world’s leader on issues of food and hunger, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been one of the major contributors in the past two years.
The 2011 federal government goal set by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is to collect two million pounds of food. Federal employees nationwide are meeting this challenge by gathering food for families in need this summer. The USDA has stepped up to the plate and is looking to meet a Feds Feed Families goal of 500,000 donated pounds of healthful food, including at least 100,000 pounds of fresh produce from our People’s Gardens, to food banks and pantries across the country. From June 1 to August 31, food donations will be accepted in all USDA agency offices.
OPM Director John Berry, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and agency officials launched the third annual Feds Feed Families food drive at the Capital Area Food Bank. In conjunction with members of the Chief Human Capital Officers Council and in partnership with the USDA and the Department of Defense, Berry announced this year’s goal of collecting two million pounds of food and other non-perishable goods.
“American families should never have to go hungry,” said Berry. “Federal workers are big-hearted people who are eager to help those in their communities who need it most. Together, we hope to collect 2 million pounds of food nationwide this summer.”
At the Capital Area Food Bank, Berry was joined by Norton as well as Kathleen Merrigan, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, and Pat Tamburrino, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Civilian Personnel Policy and Chief Human Capital Officers.
After remarks to an audience of chief and deputy human capital officers, agency coordinators, and AmeriCorps volunteers, attendees participated in a cooking demonstration led by Mitch Greene, Chef in Residence at the Capital Area Food Bank. Greene showed how families can cook meals that are healthy, inexpensive and fun.
Rhonda Brown is a coordinator at the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Rural Development.

By Ashley Hemmy
Editorial Intern

When Abraham Lincoln created the Department of Agriculture in May of 1862, he called it “the people’s department.” Farmers, who made up 58 percent of Americans at the time, needed a source of information on how to grow their crops.

Community gardens give urban dwellers the opportunity to grow affordable, healthy food, among other uses.

Today, the Department of Agriculture continues to serve America’s people in the form of People’s Gardens, community gardens created to feed those in the community who are in need.
The People’s Garden Initiative was started by USDA employee volunteers on Feb. 12, 2009 to commemorate Abraham Lincoln’s bicentennial birthday. They established the first garden at USDA headquarters here in Washington, D.C.
“People’s Gardens show what the USDA does in a visible and clear way,” said Livia Marques, who has been the People’s Garden Initiative director since it started.
The gardens tie in with Michelle Obama’s LetsMove! Initiative, which links gardening with healthy lifestyles.
Since the program’s creation, more than 400 USDA organizations have built 1,358 gardens with at least one garden located in every state, plus gardens in three territories and five countries.
Last year, the gardens collectively donated about 130,000 pounds of produce. Each garden donates to a local food bank or shelter; USDA headquarters donates to DC Central Kitchen.
“This shows that gardens can be a simple solution to multiple problems in the community from hunger to the environment,” Marques said.
Volunteers use sustainable practices to nurture their gardens such as mulching, composting and collecting rain water.
There are now three People’s Gardens in Washington, D.C. Besides the original garden at USDA headquarters, there are also gardens at two local schools, William B. Powell Elementary School and Brent Elementary School, that serve to educate children as well as to feed the community.
“[The garden] will create teaching opportunities and authentic learning projects for all our scholars, ages three to fourth grade—about the environment, biology, mathematics and related literature,” said Powell Elementary School Principal Janeece Docal at the garden’s official opening on Feb. 10, 2011. “It will also promote our health and wellness initiatives and enable social and cultural connections among our multicultural Powell community.”
Powell Elementary worked closely with the USDA and the Washington Capitals hockey team to build the garden. Capitals defenseman and 2011 NHL All-Stare Mike Green is on the waiting list for a plot in an Arlington community garden.
“[Gardens] pop up all the time,” Marques said. “The big change is trying to get people to register their garden,”
There are numerous other community gardens in the area, but it takes three special attributes to make a People’s Garden. The garden must involve a collaborative effort to benefit the community, an educational effort to teach people how to grow their own food and the garden must donate its food to a safe place in the community where people can go to claim it.
“Always trust your soil,” Marques said as a piece of advice to those starting a People’s Garden. “Especially in urban areas.”

By Mary Clare Fischer
Editorial Intern

Food is essential for life. But cooking is essential to live.
That is the message Cooking Matters sends to more than 11,000 families each year who learn to prepare cheap, healthy meals through a wide range of programs.

Cooking Matters for Teens student Jasmine Connor leanrs how to cut peppers safely while making vegetable paninis.

Presented by Share Our Strength, a nonprofit organization that works to end child hunger in America, Cooking Matters shows participants why eating well on a budget is crucial, especially for the youngest generation.
“Depending on what’s around them, they might not be aware of different fruits and vegetables,” Capital Area Food Bank nutrition programs specialist Danielle Mulack said. “Cooking gets them more involved with food; it’s learning the importance of nutrition through that hands-on style.”
Within the United States, 10.6 percent of households with children experienced times when they could not obtain enough food to lead an active, healthy life in 2009, the most recent year for which data is available, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In order to combat this problem, Cooking Matters offers two specialized courses targeted at kids. The classes feature a trained chef who teaches students how to make simple recipes while helping their families learn how to make meals on a budget.
Other courses focus on low-income adults, teens, teen parents, child care professionals, diabetics and HIV/AIDS patients. All classes teach basic skills such as how to use a knife or how to read an ingredient label, and culminate in making a meal for a family of four on a $10 budget.
“It’s tricky, but there are some proven strategies that we teach in our classes,” Mulack said, “like comparing unit prices and buying in bulk because a bag of potatoes or apples might have a lower unit price than individuals. Looking for sales and coupons and planning around that or if you really like to cook beef or chicken that may be more expensive, using smaller amounts and focusing on things that are more inexpensive for the bulk of the meal.”
After each class, participants receive a bag of groceries so they can make the recipes they’ve just learned.
AmeriCorps volunteer Megan Crowe said this component is her favorite part of the program.
“Seeing participants take the courses and run with them; having people come back having done a recipe at home and say, ‘This is so good!’ and make it that way from then on, it’s great,” she said. “Basically, they’re trying to incorporate things they learn in class into life.”
Volunteers such as Megan drive the Cooking Matters program. While Share Our Strength provides training and resources, community centers rent out locations and local organizations supply the staff.
Mulack said the goal is to build “local capacity” by transferring some of the leadership to the organizations themselves.
“We find that the closer the course coordinator and the leader is to the participants, the more effective it is because they’re the ones with the relationship with their clients,” Mulack said. “They’re able to develop the relationship and be more of a resource to the community.”
Cooking Matters for Teens student Jasmine Connor takes full advantage of her weekly contact with Cooking Matters leaders. Connor hopes to become a chef and open her own restaurant like the contestants on Top Chef.
“I wanted to learn new recipes and bring things home,” Connor said. “When I’m a little older, Chef Angie says I can come and talk with her. It’s hard to make because you’re not used to it, but I love cooking. It’s my favorite thing.”

Each Pret shop has at least 300 items left on the shelves at closing time. They partner with local service providers to make sure that perfectly good food is not wasted.

by Hannah Traverse
Editorial Intern
You may walk past a Pret A Manger shop every day on your way to work. You might include Pret A Manger’s fresh sandwiches, wraps and salads in your regular rotation of lunch options. And you still might be wondering what the name of the shop actually means.
The name, which is French for “ready to eat,” is to the point; each Pret shop is stocked with boxed sandwiches and other lunchtime staples, all made fresh daily, all ready to go. Pret restaurants are not just ready to serve hungry patrons, however; the shops serve the community by donating all leftover food at the end of the day to a local homeless service provider. In the District, that service provider is Thrive, D.C., an organization that supplies the disadvantaged with, among other things, a daily lunch program supplemented by Pret merchandise.
“The question to us was, why waste perfectly good food when others are hungry?” said Sebastian Wright, head of Pret’s commercial operations. “Pret is a sensible brand, and it just makes sense to give our unsold food away…. We’re proud to do it, because we know it’s the right thing to do.”
Founded in London in 1986, Pret now operates more than 250 shops worldwide and is still privately owned. Most of the shops are in the United Kingdom, but with Pret’s move to the U.S. in 2000, Americans can now find shops in New York City, Chicago, and D.C. Pret’s relationship with Thrive began when the first D.C. shop opened in 2009; the shop was looking for a service provider to pair with, and Thrive was the perfect fit.
Pret’s belief that “food is built to taste, not to last,” means that merchandise can only be sold the day it is made. According to Nathan Mishler, volunteer and community resources manager at Thrive, Pret has a policy to always close with a certain amount of merchandise on the shelves.
“The idea is that nobody wants to buy the last sandwich,” said Mishler.
This policy means that each Pret shop has about $350 worth of food left on the shelves at closing time. Seven days a week, Thrive volunteers or staff members pick up this merchandise from the three Pret locations in D.C. and bring it back to Thrive’s location in Columbia Heights. At 10:30 every morning, once Thrive’s hot breakfast program is over, clients can pick from the available sandwiches, salads and wraps so they have a nutritious lunch to take with them.
“There sometimes are a lot of bagel shops and coffee shops that have extra food at the end of the day,” said Mishler. “That means a lot of bagels and a lot of pastries, which doesn’t always translate into a healthy meal. Pret provides a healthy option that’s readily available.”
Mishler said that Thrive clients have responded enthusiastically to the Pret offerings. Some were a little intimidated by the food at first, wondering what to make of a falafel sandwich or vegetarian wraps stuffed with hummus, cucumbers and feta. Now, according to Mishler, the clients are requesting these items.
“It’s sort of assumed that people won’t want to eat this kind of food, but it’s more like they’ve never been exposed to it before,” said Mishler. “Two months ago, we missed a pick-up – that’s when we really noticed how much our clients appreciated the food. They were asking, ‘Where are the falafel sandwiches?’”
Ronald Cole, a Thrive client, said that he usually chooses egg salad sandwiches or anything with ham and tomatoes. Cole was also excited to see that some Pret options are made with pesto, a food that he came to enjoy by trying a friend’s homemade version. Danny Summerlin, another Thrive client, said that he sincerely appreciates the freshness of Pret’s food.
“They make a good sandwich; I’ll give ‘em that,” said Summerlin. “I like that it’s just made…. It’s all good.”
According to Wright, Pret’s nearly 30 locations in New York City donated about 300,000 pounds of food last year to the organization City Harvest. In Chicago, Pret stores are paired with The Greater Chicago Food Depository.
“As we continue to grow in the States, our partnerships and food donations with charities will also expand,” said Wright.
Pret shops in the U.K. also donate unsold food to the hungry. In London, Pret runs its own vans to deliver more than 12,000 meals across the city on a weekly basis.
U.K. shops also participate in Pret’s Simon Hargraves Apprenticeship scheme. This program provides up to 30 jobs a year in Pret shops for the homeless, ex-offenders and the impoverished. The apprenticeship lasts three months, during which time the apprentice receives full employee benefits, has all job-related travel expenses covered and is given £100 to buy clothes. Even if a job is not available at the end of 3 months, the apprentice leaves with experience and a reference.
There is no word on whether Pret will begin a similar program in the States, but the shop is dedicated to “work[ing] with long-term charity partners to ensure as much food as possible gets safely and reliably to the needy every night,” said Wright. Pret is expanding slowly and steadily, deciding not to franchise and not feeling the pressure of a publicly traded company. For the time being, however, Pret’s food donations are greatly appreciated.
“It’s been a growing, wonderful relationship,” said Alicia Horton, Thrive’s executive director. “Part of [Pret’s] philanthropic philosophy is to not waste food and to be a good community partner.”