About Us

About Us

Martha’s Table deals with the immediate effects of poverty and finds long-term solutions with education, nutrition and family support services.

Martha’s Table impacts over 1100 people a day with its programs, including those for children and youths from ages 3 months to 22 years old, and their families.

At the core of Martha’s Table’s grocery program is:

• Engaging children and families around food and its preparation.
• Delivering tons of food to local inner city schools where families choose among healthy offerings of fruit and vegetables, dairy, and protein.

At the core of Martha’s Table’s daycare, after-school and summer programs is:

• National accreditation and outcome-based curricula that focus on school readiness, school success and graduation, college readiness and college graduation.

At the core of Martha’s Table’s family support services is:

• Creating a clothing operation where everyone -- those with means and those without -- can shop together and choose the items that they not only need, but want, choosing how they will present and express themselves to the world.
• Workshops for families focusing on parenting skills, health and behavioral screenings, and nutrition.

At the core of Martha’s Table’s volunteer program is:

• Creating opportunities for 10,000 people a year from schools, businesses, faith-based groups, and the community to learn about service and the value of helping their neighbors.

Our Mission

Our History

Beginning with humble roots in 1980, Martha’s Table was originally a place for children to receive free sandwiches and food after school.  We gradually grew to address the additional needs of the community by finding solutions to poverty in the short and long term.  We address emergency needs with food and clothing programs and break the long cycle of poverty with education and family support services.

30th Anniversary

Media Center

Past Newsletters

Strategic Plan

Demonstrated Quality

We are proud to announce that Martha's Table just received word from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) granting accreditation status to our Child Development Center.

Charity Navigator, a national evaluator of charity finances, has awarded Martha's Table its Four Star Rating (their highest rating), recognizing our staff that is hard at work keeping our overhead low, our spending efficient, and our programs running smoothly. 
Charity Navigator's website reflects that, "Martha's Table executes its mission in a fiscally responsible way and outperforms most other charities in America."

Martha's Table is pleased to announce that its President and CEO, Lindsey Buss, has been chosen by the Eugene and Agnes Meyer Foundation as a recipient of the Foundation's 2009 Exponent Award, which includes a $100,000 grant to be used for leadership development at Martha's Table.

The Exponent Award was created to support and sustain the most capable nonprofit leaders in the Greater Washington region.  In addition to entrepreneurial leadership, the Foundation considered each nominee's success at increasing the impact of their organization's work, instituting sound financial management and serving as a collaborative community leader.

The National After-School Association (NAA) has awarded our Children's and Bridge programs the status of Nationally Accredited After-School Program.  Martha's Table is now one of two after-school programs in Washington, DC (the other is at Bolling Air Force Base) to have this honor.  We are thrilled to be able to provide this high level of impact to the wonderful children, youth, parents and community we serve.  Especially because of the many challenges our young people and their families face, we believe they deserve the best.