Spring Break
D.C. Central Kitchen founder speaks out against hunger
Jesseca Bagherpour
Issue date: 9/18/07 Section: NEWS
Ever since Robert Egger was 12, he wanted to work in a nightclub. Once he graduated from high school, even though his parents wanted him to go to college, he followed his dream and got a job at a club in Washington, D.C. Egger wanted to change the world with music, but now he changes the world with food.
Egger, who founded D.C. Central Kitchen in Washington, D.C., in 1989, spoke at NT Thursday as a part of NT American Humanics' Hunger Awareness activities. He gave a morning and an evening lecture, during which he described his work as a nonprofit founder and the future of nonprofit organizations in this country.
"It's not about a handout, it's about a hand up," NT President Gretchen Bataille said about Egger's nonprofit work. "It's about helping men and women know they can be successful."
Egger said his main mission is to get nonprofits to stop focusing on charity, which he said only temporarily helps people, and to start educating people. One of the many facets of D.C. Central Kitchen is a training program for unemployed men and women, many of them fresh out of prison or drug rehabilitation programs, to work in the foodservice industry. More than 605 graduates of the program have gained employment since it began.
"The idea was to get food from restaurants, hospitals, universities and caterers [and] bring it back to a central hub where you could also bring men and women who were out of prison and out of drug addiction programs [and] give them skills to give people food," Egger said. "I came from a food service professional's point of view. This was a business I could figure out to do."
An obstacle Egger came up against immediately was the "urban myth in America that it was illegal to donate food," he said. So he went straight to the top for help. President George H.W. Bush had just been elected and was making plans for his inaugural ball. His administration was also busy repairing the reputation of Republicans, who seemed uncaring in the wake of the Reagan administration. Egger called the White House caterer and told them his idea - if they gave away their leftover food, they could help hungry people in the area and give their political party a good name.
Egger, who founded D.C. Central Kitchen in Washington, D.C., in 1989, spoke at NT Thursday as a part of NT American Humanics' Hunger Awareness activities. He gave a morning and an evening lecture, during which he described his work as a nonprofit founder and the future of nonprofit organizations in this country.
"It's not about a handout, it's about a hand up," NT President Gretchen Bataille said about Egger's nonprofit work. "It's about helping men and women know they can be successful."
Egger said his main mission is to get nonprofits to stop focusing on charity, which he said only temporarily helps people, and to start educating people. One of the many facets of D.C. Central Kitchen is a training program for unemployed men and women, many of them fresh out of prison or drug rehabilitation programs, to work in the foodservice industry. More than 605 graduates of the program have gained employment since it began.
"The idea was to get food from restaurants, hospitals, universities and caterers [and] bring it back to a central hub where you could also bring men and women who were out of prison and out of drug addiction programs [and] give them skills to give people food," Egger said. "I came from a food service professional's point of view. This was a business I could figure out to do."
An obstacle Egger came up against immediately was the "urban myth in America that it was illegal to donate food," he said. So he went straight to the top for help. President George H.W. Bush had just been elected and was making plans for his inaugural ball. His administration was also busy repairing the reputation of Republicans, who seemed uncaring in the wake of the Reagan administration. Egger called the White House caterer and told them his idea - if they gave away their leftover food, they could help hungry people in the area and give their political party a good name.
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