Food and Friends, a Northeast D.C.-based nonprofit, is known for cooking up meals for some of the region’s ill and homebound residents.
This Thanksgiving, like every Thanksgiving, they’re getting ready to serve up 900 dinners to those who are battling cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other illnesses. And if you’re able to, they’d love your help with a donation that’ll help them provide those dinners — with a sweet reward being offered if you do.
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Their annual Slice of Life pie sale opens for orders through Nov. 18 after the deadline was recently extended, allowing patrons to pick up a pie on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving at about 50 different locations.
“It’s such a great way to make a direct impact on the people we serve, all of whom are living with a serious illness,” said Carrie Stoltzfus, executive director of Food and Friends. “Each pie will cover the cost of a day’s worth of meals for one of our clients.”
Ordering your choice of apple, pecan, pumpkin, sweet potato or sea salt chocolate chess offers one less thing for you to cook on Thanksgiving.
“But the impact of that is someone gets a meal that’s designed for them, designed for their nutritional needs and illness, and they basically get to eat all day because of your donation and your gift to Food and Friends,” Stoltzfus said. “That’s a pretty neat way to make an impact and also get the benefit of a delicious pie.”
This year, Food and Friends teamed up with multiple local TikTok influencers as well as the Washington Spirit to hype up their sale on social media and show off some of the flavors. It’s happening at a time when more people are relying on Food and Friends too.
@thedistrictcravings Every pie ordered by 11/16 through @foodandfriendsdc is helping to feed a neighbor living with a serious illness. Do good! Feel good! Buy pies! 🥧 #dcfoodie #dmvfoodie #washingtondc #sliceoflife #whiskeddc ♬ Prosecco Wukileak – wüki
Over the last 12 months, Stoltzfus said Food and Friends have provided over 1.5 million meals to over 4,800 people around the D.C. region. Half of their budget is funded through charitable donations that include fundraisers like Slice of Life.
“This is an important way to ensure not just a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday for our clients but our ability to take care of their needs throughout the year,” said Stoltzfus.
“We have been seeing a demand for our services unlike anything that we’ve seen in the past,” she added. “I do think inflation is a factor. We’re also hearing from the health care providers who refer clients to us that a lot of people are showing up to see their doctors sicker.
“So many people delayed care, delayed cancer screenings and things like that in the past few years because of the COVID epidemic and this is an after effect of that. The need for our service is high.”
