Social Responsibility

Everything But The Turkey

Join hundreds of volunteers the week of Thanksgiving to prepare side dishes with our partners at DC Central Kitchen.

Overview

Prepare Thanksgiving-themed dishes that will be distributed by DC Central Kitchen.

A signature program of the Edlavitch DCJCC since 1996, Everything But The Turkey (EBTT) brings together hundreds of volunteers to chop, mix, grate, and prepare thousands of servings of festive Thanksgiving dishes for people experiencing food insecurity and homelessness in the DC area in partnership with DC Central Kitchen.

Sign up for a spot to make green beans, kickin’ coleslaw, savory stuffing, collard greens, yummy yams, or apple crumble. No cooking experience necessary!

The presenting sponsor of Everything But The Turkey is the Annette M. and Theodore N. Lerner Family Foundation


2023 Impact

This year, over 740 volunteers prepared more than 11,700 servings of Thanksgiving side dishes which served 3,400 people facing food insecurity in Washington, DC.

Whether you donated funds, made soup jars, created snack bags, or chopped, grated, and mixed coleslaw, green beans, yams, stuffing, apple crumble, and collards, this impact was because of you.

Fighting hunger doesn’t stop with EBTT – we have to change the way our food systems work so that fewer people have to fight a daily battle to find their next meal.

We hope you might take a few minutes to learn and take action in the following ways:


Thank you to our 2023 sponsors!

EBTT is made possible by this generous community of supporters. If you’d like to join as a sponsor, please click here.

GOLD SPONSORS:

Janet A. Abrams
Bookey Family Foundation
Jeff Menick
Eric and Kathryn Zimmerman

SILVER SPONSORS:

Johanna Chanin and Randall Levitt
Cornerstone Research
Daniel Hirsch and Brenda Gruss
Nussdorf Family Foundation
Tine and Albert Small, Jr.
Wealthspire Advisors

BRONZE SPONSORS:

Saul and Nancy Pilchen
Janis and Phillip Schiff
Rhea Schwartz and Paul Wolff
The Sosland Foundation

IN-KIND SPONSORS

Keany Produce
H&S Bakery


Frequently Asked Questions

Everyone! We invite volunteers of all ages and backgrounds to join us (you don’t have to be Jewish to volunteer). There is a special program for families with children under 7, a separate shift for young professionals, and two shifts open to everyone. Some of the recipes are not recommended for children under the age of 10, but that will be indicated on the registration page.

Yes. We request a tax-deductible program fee of $20 per person to offset the high costs of quality ingredients we use in all of the dishes we make during EBTT.

Please email Mira and she will help you out with registering for this program.

Unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate walk-ins for any portion of this event. All participants must register online by the registration deadline.

We are very happy to help! Please email Mira with your needs.

Each table holds 8 people. If you would like to reserve a table, we have sponsorship opportunities available. New this year, you may only purchase tickets for the members of your household associated with your MyEDCJCC account. We encourage you to coordinate with other members of your group to purchase tickets for the same tables.

The food all goes to DC Central Kitchen, where it is cooked, plated, and sent out to community agencies that serve these meals on Thanksgiving.

Masking is optional at all EDCJCC programs. Please note that there is a large number of volunteers who attend EBTT programs and we want to send everyone off to their Thanksgiving holidays healthy!

Yes! Your support makes this program possible. Together, we can help provide Thanksgiving to those for whom this act signifies much more than receiving a meal. Give by November 22, and a match will double your impact.

Mira Smith headshot

Mira Smith

Assistant Director, Morris Cafritz Center for Social Responsibility

couple roasting marshmallows over small burners.

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