Snowpocalypse Note: Miriam’s Kitchen will continue to be open for breakfast (6:30 – 8am) and dinner (4:45 – 5:45pm) regardless of snow for the rest of the week. Anyone seeking help is welcome at Miriam’s (2401 Virginia Avenue, NW) Monday through Friday.
After a much-anticipated wait, Miriam’s Kitchen — the Foggy Bottom soup kitchen made famous by a visit from Michelle Obama last winter — is now officially open for dinner. Since its founding in 1983, Miriam’s has served breakfast to tens of thousands of homeless Washingtonians, and is now expanding its services to help feed even more of the city’s needy residents.
A couple Fridays ago, I stopped by Miriam’s to observe the new dinner program. From the chatter I heard coming from the dining room tables set up around the room, I’d say the program has been a success so far.
“You’re five out of five now!” shouted one excited guest. He no doubt was referring to the five apparently satisfying meals prepared by new Miriam’s chef John Murphy in the first five days of the dinner program. Murphy smiled and thanked the man.
What no one in the room seemed to notice, however, was that the the meal they were served that night — spaghetti with a fresco tomato sauce, roasted broccoli, whole wheat focaccia, apple crisp, and fresh fruit – was completely vegetarian and, for the most part, incredibly healthy.
This is something that Miriam’s takes great pride in. With many of the guests at Miriam’s suffering from a wide range of health problems, it’s important to the chefs, as well as the staff, to feed their guests a meal that is not only delicious but that is healthy too. Even though this means limiting salt and serving healthier options like whole wheat bread, most guests don’t seem to mind. From what I’ve heard, Miriam’s dinner program continues to see between 5 and 15 new faces show up on a daily basis.
This is not only a testament to the delicious food and friendly volunteers, but also to the wide-range of programs (non-food related) that guests are offered. In addition to serving meals, Miriam’s also has case management services and runs a studio program that allows visitors to express themselves through mediums like art and writing. These programs are popular with many of the guests — a fact that seems obvious when you look at the drawings and poetry produced by these individuals.
In order to make these programs successful, Miriam’s relies on an army-size group of 1,500 volunteers — but they can always use more. If you’d like to volunteer — either to serve a meal, prepare some food or help out the case managers — click here to find out how.
Dinner is now served at Miriam’s from 4:45 – 5:45pm, Monday through Friday.
Photo credit: Executive Office of the President
