A D.C. Council member wants an investigation into who is feeding the city’s homeless after she learned a small business is charging the city double that of its competitor for meals served in a shelter.
In a letter to D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine, Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh asked his office to investigate what cause Henry’s Soul Café to win the bulk of the contract to provide meals at 10 city homeless shelters.
Until now, the nonprofit that runs the city’s homeless services, The Community Partnership, had awarded the bid to D.C. Central Kitchen, which Cheh learned offered a lower cost-per-meal than Henry’s.
“It appears D.C. Central Kitchen substantially underbid Henry’s in the current contracting process … oversight documents indicate that Henry’s currently charges 50 percent more per supper meal ($5.18) than D.C. Central Kitchen ($3.20),” Cheh writes.
Meanwhile, as the Washington City Paper first reported, D.C. Central Kitchen is now operating on a $1 million revenue shortfall, with a contract to supply only five shelters with the food they need.
Cheh also questions why Henry’s also receives a “specialty dinner” reimbursement of $7.50 per meal in its contract.
“It’s unclear why a longtime vendor would lose a contract to a vendor that charges significantly more for services,” Cheh writes.
She is proposing legislation that, in part, tasks the Department of Human Services to oversee food service contracts for shelters from now on.
WTOP’s attempts to reach Henry’s Soul Cafe ownership for comment were not returned.