Robert Egger, The James Beard Foundation's Humanitarian of the Year

By Scott Hume, Executive Managing Editor -- Restaurants & Institutions, 7/1/2004

In 1989, Robert Egger founded D.C. Central Kitchen as a place where the needy in the nation’s capital could be fed and the jobless could join a 12-week culinary arts training program. Graduates can work at his Fresh Start Catering company. His Campus Kitchens initiative uses idle school cafeterias to prepare food for local social agencies. He also established Kitchens in National Cooperation, an online network where community kitchens can share best practices.

Q. You ran nightclubs before starting D.C. Central Kitchen. That’s quite a switch.
A. People say that, but, really, it’s not that big a leap. This is hospitality. What I do is serve people; it’s my job to see who my customers are and how I can serve them better. That’s what any restaurateur does, and that’s why I love this job. The challenge every day is to know how my customers are changing and to come up with different [ways] to serve them. That’s the joy of hospitality.

Q. So what was the genesis of the Central Kitchen?
A. I went out one night, rather reluctantly, to volunteer and work on a truck that served people who sleep on the street in Washington, D.C. And I was little confused and frustrated. Here was a group that was certainly well intentioned but they were buying food and giving it away. I thought, wait a second. I know you mean well, but in the restaurant industry we throw away a lot of food. There has to be a way to get that food, and there’s got to be jobs [to be had preparing it].

Q. Has the foodservice industry supported you from the start?
A. Absolutely. Restaurants said, hey, if you can find a way to safely get this food to you, sign me up. We get a tax deduction, we don’t have to throw food away—which creates trash and rodent problems—it’s a great morale kick for the staff. And you tell me you’re going use that food to train people and you’re going to give me an entry-level person with good knife skills who is a certified food handler.

Q. Does D.C. Central Kitchen still get much of its food from restaurants?
A. Very little. Restaurants have become much more sophisticated about freezing and packaging. They don’t have waste like they did when I came up in the business, where if lasagna was the special they made giant lasagnas. The staff ate some of whatever was left and you threw out the rest.
We worked with [former Agriculture Secretary] Dan Glickman, and President Clinton signed a food-donor law. The National Restaurant Association was a big help. Getting food isn’t the problem. Instead of piecemeal [contributions], the law brought in partners like Marriott International and Sodexho USA.

Q. How can the foodservice industry help now?
A. I told the folks at the James Beard dinner that I won’t ask them to care. Half the nonprofits in America would be broke if it weren’t for [foodservice operations] raising money for us. They obviously care. I’m not going to ask them to work, they are working. I’m going to ask [foodservice professionals] to think.

We’ve got all these [hunger] programs, but they’re not connected. There is no more generous group of people than the hospitality business, but let’s get smart about this, let’s get coordinated. Let’s think about what we’re doing, because instinctively we all know that as glorious and genuinely American as this experiment is, it ain’t working. It feels good, it sounds good, but we’re not seeing that big decrease in hunger.

The large groups we should be reaching out to and getting them to work are kids aging out of foster care and returning as felons. I know that’s a tough one. But I would ask really courageous companies to work with programs like the Central Kitchen and find ways. Maybe you can’t hire 25, but you can hire one. I’ll work with you.