“The world has changed, but Miriam’s Kitchen, founded in 1983 with the mission of eradicating chronic homelessness, ensures that its beneficiaries experience orderliness and respect. Patrons are referred to as “guests,” and a chalkboard menu offers a preview of what they’ll find in the tents: “Banana pancakes” read the top line of a recent morning menu, which went on to flag scrambled eggs, sauteed potatoes and applesauce. 

Thoughtful cooking is a carrot (truly) that leads to other resources at Miriam’s Kitchen, which expanded its mission eight years ago to fight homelessness on multiple fronts. Guests can consult with health care and housing specialists, make phone calls, use a mailbox and take art classes.”

– Tom Sietsema, Food Critic, The Washington Post 

“Historically, most local social service providers that serve the homeless have tended to operate in isolation, each occupying a niche in a fragmented landscape. Over the past decade, Miriam’s Kitchen has transformed its strategy for addressing homelessness. It has moved from being a siloed provider of basic services (such as meals, clothing, counseling, case management), to becoming a strategic system orchestrator. As a system orchestrator, Miriam’s Kitchen plays a critical role convening government agencies, non-profits, businesses, and faith organizations to coordinate efforts and outcomes around the shared city-wide vision of ending chronic homelessness in Washington, D.C. This system-level strategy is paying off. Since 2013, D.C. has reduced veteran and chronic homelessness by 41% and 10%, respectively.”

– Alnoor Ebrahim, Professor at Tufts University and author of “Measuring Social Change: Performance & Accountability in a Complex World” (Stanford University Press, 2019), which includes Miriam’s Kitchen as a case study.

“I have enjoyed working with all of you. You have sincerely touched my heart for the short time with you. I will never stop learning and giving. I didn’t realize how much people cared about people who are living on the street until I walked through Miriam’s Kitchen Doors You have truly been an inspirational and motivated force in my life. Your kindness will never be forgotten. I care about each one of you. I see nothing but good things coming to Miriam’s Kitchen now and in the future. I also enjoyed sharing my strength and hope with you. Thank you for the great opportunity to share with you.”

– Sheila White, Miriam’s Kitchen Advocacy Fellow (June 28, 2018)

“Since its initiation in 1995, 100’s of nonprofits have competed for the AIM Award, which validates outstanding achievement in organizational management. We are thrilled to recognize Miriam’s Kitchen as our 2018 AIM Award winner for their exceptional overall management practices and their evolution from direct services for those experiencing homelessness to becoming a leader in ending chronic homelessness in Washington, DC. They join the ranks of our 23 past winners, an impressive group of outstanding nonprofits. Congratulations to Miriam’s Kitchen on their extraordinary work.”

– Taylor Strange, COO, Center for Nonprofit Management

“Having served on the Miriam’s Kitchen Board of Directors I have an in-depth understanding of the organization’s leadership, operations and programs. I remain particularly impressed with how Miriam’s Kitchen increases access to health care for people who are homeless. The health care sector is striving to improve outcomes while at the same time reducing unnecessary costs, and Miriam’s Kitchen is a vital part of that effort. They are such a forward-thinking organization that they even teamed up with a leading healthcare consulting company to identify to true costs of homelessness related to emergency medical care in DC. I am proud to be associated with their work.”

– Maureen P. McCausland, DNSc, RN, FAAN, Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer, MedStar Health

 “Miriam’s Kitchen has been an invaluable contributor to the work of the DC Interagency Council on Homelessness. They have taken leadership roles and dedicated significant staff time to support key ICH projects, such as: creating and maintaining a strong Coordinated Assessment and Housing Placement System, developing a city-wide landlord engagement strategy, and building systems to use mainstream federal funds like Medicaid to supplement local homeless services dollars. As the Director of the Interagency Council on Homelessness, I know that DC wouldn’t be making the progress we are on ending homelessness and building strong systems to accelerate and sustain our progress without the significant, dedicated, and skilled time that Miriam’s Kitchen devotes to this work.”

• – Kristy M. Greenwalt, Executive Director of the DC Interagency Council on Homelessness (2016)