About Us

Our Mission

Martha’s Table finds solutions to poverty in the short term with food and clothing programs and in the long term by breaking the cycle of poverty with education and family strengthening programs. 

Martha's Table's mission is to help at-risk children, youth, families and individuals in our community improve their lives by providing educational programs, food, clothing and enrichment opportunities.

Each year, we carry out this mission through three areas of service:

Providing tutorial, learning and recreational programs during the school year and the summer for approximately 250 children and youth, aged 3 months to 18 years;

Providing meals to the homeless 365 days a year at various sites throughout the city, as well as providing meals to senior shut-ins and community holiday meals;

Offering an in-kind redistribution center, family support services and information and referrals about other community and government services.

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.