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Bread for the City staff member Kate Baasch testifies on behalf of Bread for the City’s Legal Clinic.

Victims from the Monterey Park shooting

As we wind down this year, here are Bread for the City’s Top Moments of 2022. From everyone at Bread for the City, we wish you a gentle and restorative end to 2022 and a welcoming start to 2023!

Every morning, over 1,000 DC residents lined our streets, waiting for their opportunity to pick up these much-needed supplies. The continued financial impacts of the pandemic and the looming prospect of a recession, the numbers we greeted each day laid bare the growing, and significant, need of those living on low incomes here in DC. Our initial goal was to raise $1,200,000 to sponsor 12,000 families, but we quickly realized that there was a greater need. In just two days, we had gone through over 20% of our initial Holiday Helpings stock, and by day 13, as we closed the program for this year, we had served 16,000 families.

Since July, Bread for the City has been grieving the loss of our long-time chief operating officer, Jeannine Sanford. To those who knew her, Jeanine was a caring mentor. Throughout her 30-year tenure, she always offered her time, provided advice, and advocated for those in need as a well-known pillar in the legal services and pro bono community. 

We unite with Jeannine’s family, her friends, the legal access community, and her Bread for the City loved ones in honoring her legacy as we say goodbye.

“With food insecurity at an all-time high in the District, working with area businesses in the food industry is paramount to solving hunger through a collaborative approach,” said George Jones, CEO of Bread for the City. “It takes all of us – nonprofits, government, businesses, and individuals – to tackle these complex issues. We’re excited to receive this support from Wegmans and happy to welcome them to the fight against poverty here in DC.”