To kick off the season of giving, Catholic Charities of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and Pepco on Tuesday, Nov. 21 served a sit-down Thanksgiving meal and distributed winter coats to those who are homeless or hungry. 

Three hundred traditional Thanksgiving dinners – turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, collard greens, corn bread and a brownie – were made especially for the guests by Catholic Charities’ KitchenWork program. 

During the pandemic, the Thanksgiving dinner was held outdoors. This year, dinner was returned inside, and was served at Pepco Edison Place Gallery by more than two dozen Catholic Charities volunteers and by Pepco employees.

Also at the dinner, guests received a warm winter coat courtesy of Pepco, along with toiletries packaged by its employees.

Organizers noted that in the true spirit of Thanksgiving, the dinner gave those facing food insecurity and homelessness a hot meal in a festive location. It also fostered a sense of community for the guests, which is especially important for those facing challenges during the holidays.

The sit-down dinner was hosted by Catholic Charities as part of its St. Maria’s Meals program and by Pepco.

Catholic Charities began St. Maria’s Meals in 2013. That same year, a Thanksgiving dinner at Pepco Edison Place Gallery was included.

Food insecurity is a real problem in the. D.C. metropolitan area. According to a Capital Area Food Bank survey, more than one million people in this region self-identified as food insecure.

St. Maria’s Meals is a once-a-week hot dinner served in front of Catholic Charities’ office in northwest Washington, D.C. In the last fiscal year, 23,192 hot meals were served by St. Maria’s Meals. 

Through all its food assistance programs, Catholic Charities served more than 3.7 million meals to the hungry in fiscal year 2023 — a 31 percent increase over the previous year.  Also, 1,100 beds were provided to those without homes each night.

To further combat food insecurity, Catholic Charities DC is hosting a Virtual Food Drive, which is going on now. For information about the Virtual Food Drive, visit CatholicCharitiesDC.org.