Martha's Table moving after 37 years on 14th Street NW

WASHINGTON (ABC7) — After nearly four decades on 14th Street Northwest, Martha's Table is moving. The non-profit will relocate its D.C. headquarters from Ward 1 to Ward 8.

Martha's Table has provided countless Washingtonians with food, clothing and educational programs over the past 37 years.

Last year alone, the organization said it provided its clients with 1.6 million healthy meals with help from about 18,000 volunteers.

For some volunteers, the pending closure of the 14th Street site is bittersweet. After so many years, there have been many historic moments at the center. These include visits from multiple Presidents and first families, from the Bushes to the Obamas.

Over the decades, the organization’s headquarters also gradually expanded to 26,000 square feet, stretching nearly a full city block.

But in recent years, the area around Martha’s Table has been transformed and gentrified. The non-profit is now surrounded by luxury condo buildings and other new developments.

Martha's Table spokesperson Ryan Palmer said, “The sort of epicenter of need has of shifted in the city.”

Palmer said Martha's Table is choosing to move, thanks in part to a $10 million dollar gift to the organization.

And profits from the sale of the now very valuable property on 14th Street will be reinvested when – in May 2018 - Martha’s Table opens a 43,000 square foot center in D.C.'s Hillsdale neighborhood.

By relocating there, Palmer said Martha's Table can better target so-called food desserts in communities east of the Anacostia River.

But the organization will still maintain a presence in Northwest Washington, opening nearby a Columbia Heights satellite location in a partnership with Jubilee Housing.

“We'll be able to stay right here on 14th Street until we're firmly planted in both locations,” Palmer said.