The Washington Home invests $705K in DC older adults’ food access

The Washington Home has launched a $704,906 citywide grant collaboration with 11 partners to expand healthy food access for older adults across Washington, DC. The effort is designed to reach about 8,600 older adults and build a more coordinated response to senior food insecurity.

Why it matters: - The collaboration targets food insecurity among older adults in Washington, DC, which is growing quickly and often overlaps with mobility, health, transportation, housing and income challenges. - The initiative is designed to move beyond one-off food aid and create a coordinated support system that can reach more seniors with fewer barriers. - TWH projects the collaboration will increase healthy food access for at least 50% of older adults expected to experience food insecurity in the District.

What happened: - The Washington Home launched its Healthy Food Access Collaboration, a new citywide grant initiative focused on older adults in Washington, DC. - TWH committed $704,906 across 11 partner organizations. - The collaboration is part of TWH’s redesigned FY26 grant strategy, which shifts funding toward collective accountability, coordination and long-term systems change. - TWH awarded $4.5 million in FY26 grants across all eight DC wards, including initiatives tied to healthcare access, social isolation, workforce development and aging-in-place support.

The details: - The collaboration is projected to reach about 8,600 older adults across the District. - The model creates a coordinated continuum of care that includes food credits, outreach, referrals, shared impact measurement, grocery and meal delivery, transportation help and integrated food-support pathways in all eight wards. - Bread for the City will provide client-choice pantry access and use food credits with CAFB to expand dignified access. - Capital Area Food Bank will coordinate the food credit pilot and shared data, and distribute monthly fresh produce through senior programs. - Christ House will provide medically appropriate daily meals for medical respite patients and meals for senior recovery housing residents. - DC Central Kitchen will deliver seven fresh, seasonal meals each week to mobility-limited older adults citywide. - DC Greens will provide Food is Medicine, nutrition and wellness training at The Well at Oxon Run, with transportation support as needed. - East River Family Strengthening Collaborative will support home grocery delivery in Wards 1, 7 and 8 through Amazon Fresh, Instacart and subsidized delivery. - Food For All DC will provide monthly home-delivered groceries through a choice-based Food is Medicine model for diabetes and hypertension support. - FRESHFARM will aggregate local produce and deliver wholesale produce bags at no markup to partners through a food credit pilot. - Miriam’s Kitchen will provide nutritious meals and case management for older adults experiencing homelessness or housing instability. - Seabury Resources for Aging will coordinate transportation, grocery and farmers’ market trips, and dining-site food education programming. - We Are Family Senior Outreach Network will provide volunteer-powered food credits, grocery trips, home delivery and emergency deliveries.

Between the lines: - The strategy reflects a broader shift in philanthropy from funding isolated programs to funding networks that share data, coordinate services and measure outcomes together. - The model also treats senior hunger as a systems issue, not just a food distribution problem. - Crystal Carr Townsend, CEO of The Washington Home, said the collaboration is meant to create a connected support system for older adults and caregivers navigating multiple systems at once. - Radha Muthiah, president and CEO of the Capital Area Food Bank, said the investment should help the region think about how to better meet senior food needs over time.

What's next: - The partner network will expand food access services across the District through coordinated delivery, transportation support and food credits. - TWH and its partners will use shared measurement and cross-organization referrals to track impact and adjust services. - The collaboration is positioned as a model for how Washington, DC can address aging, health and food insecurity through community care.

The bottom line: - TWH is betting that coordinated, multi-partner support can do more for older adults than standalone food programs, and it is funding the network to prove it. - More information is available at The Washington Home.