How DC Communities Are Fighting For Food Justice
Hunger In The Nation’s Capital: How DC Communities Are Fighting For Food Justice
Hunger in the nation’s capital isn’t always visible, but for thousands of residents, it’s a dull ache that starts in the stomach and seeps into daily life, making it hard to focus in class or sleep through the night.
According to the 2025 Capital Hunger Report, 36% of Washington, D.C., households experienced food insecurity in the past year. This is the highest rate since the pandemic began. At Howard University, surrounded by both student need and community resilience, I set out to understand why hunger is rising in our city and how local leaders are reimagining solutions.
What I found is that these numbers reflect lasting pandemic-era inequities, surging food prices, and new challenges brought by the rollback of federal support programs. With the expiration of several pandemic-era SNAP expansions in October 2025, millions of Americans have lost food assistance just as costs continue to climb.
At a community fridge on Georgia Avenue, I met residents who line up before sunrise for milk, produce, and eggs that will be gone by noon. Nearby, college students stretch their dining dollars by skipping meals or relying on food pantries between classes. The same hunger that drives residents to the fridge also shadows students just blocks away. In a city of monuments, hunger hides in plain sight.
On the ground, organizations like D.C. Greens are leading the charge to make food a right, not a privilege. “We have a saying here at D.C. Greens that healthy food is a human right,” said Charles Rominiyi, manager of the Well at Oxon Run, a D.C. Greens community program. “We know we can grow food in abundance, but we need to remove the barriers that keep people from accessing it. That’s where justice comes in.”
Those barriers are everywhere, from grocery prices to zoning laws that limit community gardens, but local initiatives are finding ways around them. At Common Good City Farm in LeDroit Park, residents from across income levels can access fresh produce through a “pay-what-you-can” model. “You’ve got million-dollar homes on one side and projects on the other,” one volunteer explained. “But here, everyone can come in and pay what they can. It’s a setup that really brings people together.”
The fight for food access doesn’t stop at the farmers market. Through its Produce Rx program, D.C. Greens partners with local clinics to connect patients directly to nutrition resources. “We partner with medical centers and physicians to enroll Medicaid patients,” Rominiyi said. “They get produce prescriptions from their doctors to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. It’s a model that puts healthy food into fridges and pantries and helps reduce chronic disease.”
From pay-what-you-can markets to prescription produce, Washington, D.C., is showing that hunger isn’t just a symptom of poverty but a matter of justice.
Zoe Cummings is a senior honors journalism major at Howard University, covering HBCU news, politics, and culture. Please send tips to zoe.cummings@bison.howard.edu and follow on Instagram @zoesxphia for more content.
SEE ALSO:
I’m A Student On Food Stamps. My Future Depends On Congress
‘Empathy Is Hard To Find In The Big House.’ A Howard Student Fears SNAP Cuts Ahead Of The Holidays
Hunger In The Nation’s Capital: How DC Communities Are Fighting For Food Justice was originally published on newsone.com
