Bread for the City to hold Opening Celebration for Michelle Obama Southeast Cente

(Official Press Release)
New Facility Completed During the COVID-19 Pandemic Now Fully Operational and Open to the Community

WASHINGTON, DC — On August 25, 2023, Bread for the City will hold an official Opening Celebration for their newest facility, the Michelle Obama Southeast Center of Bread for the City on Good Hope Road in Southeast DC. The event will feature remarks from Bread for the City’s CEO George A. Jones and attending VIPs, lunch, and tours of the new facility.

Construction on the 28,132-square-foot comprehensive Southeast Center began in January 2019 and wrapped up during the pandemic. The building opened in a limited capacity in September 2020, and programs operated remotely for many months. Today, Bread for the City is thrilled to have the building finally fully open to the community. Once at full capacity, the center serves 20,000 clients through 75,000 visits annually and features a new primary medical, dental, and vision care clinic, bringing these BFC flagship services east of the Anacostia River for the first time in the organization’s history.

The Opening Celebration on August 25th will also mark the closing of the Building on Good Hope Capital Campaign that funded the construction. The campaign raised $30.3 million, with more than 1,500 participating donors. Key funding partners included The District of Columbia Department of Housing and Community Development, The Diane & Norman Bernstein Foundation, The A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation, The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, DC Housing Enterprises, City First New Markets Fund II, LLC, and City First Bank, N.A.

BFC was proud to partner with Black-owned companies on this project, including architect Michael Marshall of Michael Marshall Design and project manager Patrick Cooper of Compass Design and Development. Hamel Builders was the construction company for the project.

The new Southeast Center proudly bears former First Lady Michelle Obama’s name, paying tribute to her legacy as an advocate for poverty awareness, nutrition, access to healthy foods, educating young girls, and caring for service members and veterans.

Bread for the City is grateful to their Building on Good Hope Capital Campaign Committee members, Mark Aron, Jeffrey Drezner, Lora Drezner, Ralph Dweck, Don Foley, Louise Hilsen, Ellen Rosenthal, and Paul Taskier, who helped make this project possible.
To learn more about Bread for the City and the new center on Good Hope Road, please visit breadforthecity.org/goodhope.

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The mission of Bread for the City is to help Washington, DC residents living with low income to develop the power to determine the future of their own communities. We provide food, clothing, medical care, and legal and social services to reduce the burden of poverty. We seek justice through community organizing and public advocacy. We work to uproot racism, a major cause of poverty. We are committed to treating our clients with the dignity and respect that all people deserve.

Read the official press release here and follow our channels for continued project updates.

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