Community Involvement

The James Beard Foundation is at the center of America’s culinary community, dedicated to exploring the way food enriches our lives. Through our partnership, we bring the best of the best in culinary talent to present on the James Beard Cooking Stage – all presenters are James Beard Award winners, nominees or chefs who have cooked at the Beard House. Our goal is to celebrate America’s culinary talent and honor James Beard’s legacy through scholarship and education. We also thank our incredible chefs for making this program possible.

The American Culinary Federation is now the largest professional chefs’ organization in North America. They are made up of more than 15,000 members belonging to more than 150 chapters in four regions across the U.S. Today, ACF is the leader in offering educational resources, training, apprenticeship, competitions and programmatic accreditation designed to enhance professional growth for all current and future chefs and pastry chefs. In addition, ACF operates the most comprehensive culinary certification program in the world. Through our partnership with the organization we are proud to have a program certified for 10 ACF continuing education hours and to support the DC area chef community.

SOME (So Others Might Eat) is an interfaith, community-based organization that exists to help the poor and homeless of our nation’s capital. We meet the immediate daily needs of the people we serve with food, clothing, and health care. We help break the cycle of homelessness by offering services, such as affordable housing, job training, addiction treatment and counseling, to the poor, the elderly and individuals with mental illness. Each day, SOME is restoring hope and dignity one person at a time.

The Elizabeth Dole Foundation is the preeminent organization empowering, supporting, and honoring our nation’s 5.5 million military caregivers; the spouses, parents, family members, and friends who care for America’s wounded, ill, or injured veterans. Founded by Senator Elizabeth Dole in 2012, the Foundation adopts a comprehensive approach in its advocacy, working with leaders in the public, private, nonprofit and faith communities to recognize military caregivers’ service and promote their well-being.

USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore is the largest chapter chartered by the USO, with a strong tradition of service in the National Capital Region. Nine locations and a “deployable” Mobile USO provide signature USO services to the nearly 300,000 military members and their families living in the region and the 150,000 who travel through our local airports.

USO-Metro is a nonprofit 501c(3) organization chartered by Congress and dedicated to serving those who serve and their families in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia. It is through the generous financial support of individuals and organizations in the local community that USO-Metro is able to fulfill its mission. With the help of thousands of devoted volunteers, USO-Metro provides programs and services for active duty-troops and their families at area military hospitals, five USO centers, four USO airport lounges and a Mobile USO. Signature programs and services include holiday programs like Turkeys for Troops and Project USO Elf, career transition programs, and caring for our wounded, ill and injured troops and their caregivers. To learn more and donate visit: metro.uso.org