Three DC Mothers Come Together to Launch DC Food Project

Three mothers in D.C. have come up with an initiative called DC Food Project which is meant to cut down on food waste and keep spare food for children and families from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Three mothers, Lucie Leblois, Alysa MacClellan and Krista Weymouth – all parents of D.C. Public School students – got together to create D.C. Food Project. The Share Table is one of the two initiatives that is part of the project and which they’ll be implementing in several schools. Another initiative is named the Backpack Program.

In Northwest D.C.’s Stoddert Elementary School, the 5^th grade class students came up with the idea of Share Table. After every lunch, the food items left untouched are put in baskets which are kept in the lunchrooms during lunch hour.  The students who don’t have enough to eat can pick any food item or snacks from the baskets. The food is available for anyone who wants some food for the day.

“We identified real need in school setting for children who didn’t have enough food. The Share Table helps kids who need food during school day and weekend backpack program addresses needs of those kids who go home on week days and are food insecure at home,” Lucie Leblois told FOX 5.

Every Friday, families who don’t have sufficient food at home are sent food items in the backpacks of their kids who pick up the food packets during lunch breaks in the school. The three moms are also coordinating with the DCPS management so that the program can also be replicated in other schools all over the district.

Easterns Automotive Group has also given a financial aid of $2,700 to support the D.C. Food Project. More information about the project is available at dcfoodproject.org.