DC Central Kitchen is a nonprofit developer of innovative social ventures that break the cycle of hunger and poverty. Founded in 1989 in protest of traditional charity models, the organization uses career training, job creation, and sustainable business practices to strengthen local food systems and reduce disparities in health and economic opportunity. The Kitchen’s life-changing social ventures include providing culinary job training to at-risk adults, turning wasted food into balanced meals for shelters and nonprofits, and serving healthy, scratch-cooked meals in low-income schools. These efforts have been recognized with the leading national award for healthy school food innovation, The Golden Carrot; the Washington Business Journal’s Green Business Award for Innovation; and the DC Chamber of Commerce’s Community Impact Award.