Restaurateur Fights Food Insecurity One Refrigerator At A Time

WASHINGTON, DC — Mark Bucher, co-owner of Medium Rare, is taking a new approach to tackling hunger.

On March 6, 2020, Bucher started delivering free Medium Rare meals to older people who could not easily access food during the coronavirus quarantine. COVID-19 had not officially arrived in the DMV yet, but Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said people with a compromised immune system, or those over 70, should stay inside.

“My father, who passed away a few years ago, was 82, and it immediately struck me that if he was quarantined inside his apartment, it would become a very difficult situation for my younger sister and myself to care for him,” Bucher said.

“He doesn't Instacart anything, he doesn't Amazon grocery anything, he doesn't order anything from Amazon. So, it would be a real problem to make sure he had food. And I simply put a tweet out saying if anyone knows of anyone in this situation, Medium Rare would deliver a free dinner to them, no questions asked,” Bucher said.

Medium Rare delivered their prix fixed menu – steak frites with a mixed green salad and artisan bread – typically sold for nearly $25 a plate.

Between March and December 2020, Medium Rare — which has locations in D.C., Maryland and Virginia — delivered over 30,000 meals to DMV residents over 70.

Originally, Bucher, 53, and his business partners paid for every meal. “We didn't care… our business became a humanitarian business as opposed to a hospitality business. We had the ability to do it. We wanted to keep our employees working, so we just rallied around feeding those who needed food and worried about the rest later,” Bucher said.

“The things they teach you in business school kind of went out the window when we knew we were surrounded by hungry people,” Bucher said.

Beginnings of Feed the Fridge

When public schools announced in August 2020 that classes would continue online, Bucher’s vision for the organization changed. He worried how kids who rely on free and reduced meals would access food.

While he continued to provide food for the elderly, he created Feed the Fridge, a non-profit organization. Feed the Fridge combats food insecurity while helping small businesses survive the pandemic.

He reached out to connections in D.C. Public Schools to look into placing a refrigerator stocked with meals in the recreational centers the school system set up as Wi-FI hotspots.

"I simply said, ‘Can I put a refrigerator there and put meals for these kids.’ And D.C. said ‘Sure. How soon can you go?’ That's kind of how we started, we started putting refrigerators in these rec centers for these kids and filling them with Medium Rare meals, just so they have something to eat," Bucher said.

Refrigerator Locations

Currently, there are 26 participating restaurants and more than 20 refrigerators in recreational centers, D.C. Public Schools and the Smithsonian Museums. There are also refrigerators outside of certain public schools in Montgomery County, Maryland. As it continues to expand, Feed the Fridge will soon be outside every D.C. Public Library.

Mission and Organization

Feed the Fridge raises money to buy refrigerators and meals from local restaurants. Restaurants get $6 for every meal they provide. It costs $1,000 to buy a refrigerator and $900 to fill it each day. The Washington Nationals loaned Feed the Fridge their first six refrigerators last year, and Bucher says every dollar the group raises goes to buy refrigerators or pay for food.

“Feed the fridge is a 100 percent volunteer organization. So, everything we have goes to the solution,” Bucher said.

He wants Feed the Fridge to be a dignified solution to food insecurity. "The rule is it's got to be a meal that is served in the restaurant, so people are getting a dignified meal. We've taken the concept of food insecurity, which is really a fancy way of saying hungry, to meal security knowing that there will be meals every day in the fridge," Bucher said.

“We don't care if someone takes 1, 10 or 100. If you need it, take it. It's kind of our philosophy. We don't want sign up sheets, we don't want qualifying events, because that deters a lot of people from a dignity standpoint. So just come take what you need,” Bucher said.

Additionally, each meal follows nutritional standards. They are composed of 33 percent all natural protein, 33 percent starch or carbohydrate and 33 percent green vegetables, Bucher said. Medium Rare itself provides a steak salad with a side of bread.

Although there are other non-profits battling food insecurity, Feed the Fridge has a different message. “We worry about the kids that don't get to school… or what happens after school. So, do they need a dinner... or is mom hungry,” Bucher said.

“I am a huge fan of Feed the Fridge. It exemplifies our community response to COVID-19 as entrepreneurs are working to keep restaurant sector employees working while meeting a critical food security challenge for the community,” said Montgomery County Councilmember Hans Riemer. “I hope to see it growing and become a permanent strategy for [Montgomery] County.”

Local Restaurants Involvement

While Feed the Fridge is focused on the larger problem of food insecurity, it is also helping local restaurants who may be struggling during the pandemic. Each participating restaurant is assigned a day to prepare food for Feed the Fridge. Pie Shop, at 1339 H St. NE, feeds the fridge around 170 quiches every Tuesday.

“We get the email on Friday basically letting us know how many meals… and then they have one of their people come on Tuesday morning and meet us at the shop, and we just help them load up the boxes in their vehicle, and off they go,” Sandra Basanti, owner of Pie Shop, said.

“It’s a very structured, very organized, straightforward process and then they go and deliver the meals to all the different fridges,” Basanti said.

While restaurants and wait staff have been hit hard during the pandemic, Feed the Fridge offers a small solution. “It's an important initiative that, you know, something that we care about and we want to be involved in, but also it allows us to have those funds… where we can have those extra hours that we can offer our staff, and they're getting paid,” Basanti said.

Restaurants interested in participating in Feed the Fridge can contact Bucher and his team on their webpage to apply. You can donate to Feed the Fridge through their website and their GoFundMe campaign. Participating restaurants also have postcards they can attach to all their meals, where people can scan a QR code that links to a GoFundMe page, Bucher said.

The Post-Pandemic Future

Although created to assist with COVID-19 relief, Bucher plans to continue Feed the Fridge long after the pandemic is over. "The vision is obviously for people to copy us and do this around the country. But the reality is, we can't make a dent unless we get government funding," Bucher said.

"We know good, tasty, nutritious school lunches are a problem, ketchup is not a vegetable. I don't care what anybody says. … Now that we have a little bit of a platform we're going to have to fix it, but it's gonna take some time but we're not giving up,” Bucher said.

Participating Restaurants

Here’s where to find some of the at least 26 restaurants participating in Feed the Fridge:

Medium Rare:
Cleveland Park- 3500 Connecticut Ave. NW.
Bethesda- 4904 Fairmont Ave., Bethesda, MD
Arlington- 3601 N. Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA

• Monday-Thursday: 5:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
• Friday: 5:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m.
• Saturday: 10:30 a.m.-11:00 p.m.
• Sunday: 10:30 a.m.-10:00 p.m.

Olazzo- 7921 Norfolk Ave., Bethesda, MD

• Monday-Tuesday: 4:00 p.m.- 9:30 p.m.
• Wednesday-Thursday: 11:00 a.m.- 9:30 p.m.
• Friday: 11:30 a.m.- 10:00 p.m.
• Saturday: 11:00 a.m.- 10:00 p.m.
• Sunday: 11:00 a.m.- 9:30 p.m.

Alatri Bros.- 4926 Cordell Ave., Bethesda, MD

• Monday: 4:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
• Tuesday - Thursday: 4:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
• Friday: 4:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
• Saturday: 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
• Sunday: 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Chaia Tacos-

• Georgetown - 3207 Grace St. NW
  • 11:00 AM - 9:00 PM Tuesday - Saturday
  • 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM Sunday & Monday
• Chinatown - 615 I St. NW,
  • Monday 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
  • Tuesday - Saturday 11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
  • Sunday- Closed

Cava Mezze-
Capitol Hill - 527 8th St., SE
Rockville- 9713 Traville Gateway Drive
Clarendon- 2940 Clarendon Blvd.
Olney- 3122 Olney Sandy Spring Road

• Monday - Thursday: 4:00p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
• Friday: 11:30 a.m. - 10:15 p.m.
• Saturday: 11:00 a.m. - 10:15 p.m.
• Sunday: 11:00 a.m. - 9:15 p.m.

HoneyFlower Foods- Multiple locations in D.C., Maryland and Virginia

Duke’s Grocery-
Dupont Circle- 1513 17th St. NW
Foggy Bottom: 2000 Pennsylvania Ave. NW

• Monday: Thursday 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
• Friday: 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 a.m.
• Saturday: 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 a.m.
• Sun: 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Pie Shop DC- 1339 H St. NE

• Monday: Noon - 9:00 p.m.
• Tuesday: CLOSED
• Wednesday - Thursday: Noon - 9:00 p.m.
• Friday - Saturday: 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m
• Sunday: 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Maggiano’s- Multiple locations in D.C., Maryland and Virginia

Call Your Mother Deli-
Capitol Hill- 701 8th St. SE
Park View- 3301 Georgia Ave. NW

• 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Daily

Heavenly Edibles & Stuff, LLC -
504 Potomac Valley Drive, Fort Washington (Main Catering Office)

• Monday to Friday: 6:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
• Saturday: Open for Private Scheduled Catering Events Only

RASA-
National Landing- 2200 Crystal Drive, Suite F, Arlington, VA

• 10:30 a.m. - 9 p.m. Daily

Ballpark- 1247 First St. SE

• Sunday-Thursday: 10:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
• Friday-Saturday: 10:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Mount Vernon- 485 K. St. NW

• Sunday-Thursday: 10:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
• Friday-Saturday: 10:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Moon Rabbit- 801 Wharf St. SW

• Tuesday-Sunday: 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. (Dinner)
• Saturday-Sunday: 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. (Brunch)

Rasika-
Penn Quarter- 633 D St. NW

• Monday-Thursday: 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
• Friday - Saturday: 5:00 p.m. - 10.30 p.m.
• Sunday: 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

West End- 1190 New Hampshire Ave. NW

• Monday: 5:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
• Tuesday-Wednesday: 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
• Thursday-Friday: 5:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
• Sunday: 4:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Lunch Hours (both locations):

• Monday-Friday: 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
• Saturday: Closed
• Sunday: 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Bindaas-
Cleveland Park- 3309 Connecticut Ave. NW

• 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Daily

Foggy Bottom- 2000 Pennsylvania Ave. NW

• Monday -Tuesday: Closed
• Wednesday - Thursday: 11:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
• Friday - Saturday: 11:30 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
• Sunday: 11:30 am. - 9:00 p.m.

Sababa- 3311 Connecticut Ave. NW

• Monday-Tuesday: 5:00 p.m.- 9:00 p.m.
• Wednesday-Thursday: 5:00p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
• Friday-Saturday: 5:00 p.m.- 10:00 p.m.
• Sunday: 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.; 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Modena- 1199 H St. NW

• Tuesday-Friday: 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. (Lunch)
• Tuesday-Thursday 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
• Friday-Saturday 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

San Lorenzo- 1316 9th St. NW

• Monday - Thursday: 5:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m
• Friday - Saturday: 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
• Sunday: 4:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Patch has partnered with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that in 2021, about 42 million Americans may not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.