Feds cook up spicy competition for charity

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Feds cook up spicy competition for charity

Amateur chefs from 12 federal agencies brought crock pots full of spicy meat and beans to the Energy Department cafeteria Thursday for the 2015 Feds Feed Families...

Michael O'Connell@moconnellWFED

October 1, 2015 2:43 pm

1 min read

Shirley E. Brown from the Office of the Chief Economist at the Department of Agriculture gets into the spirit of the 2015 Feds Feed Families Chili Cook-Off Thursday, Oct. 1, at the Department of Energy. She prepared White Bean and Chicken Chili for contest, which pits cooks from 12 different departments against each other. (*Photo by Michael O’Connell/Federal News Radio)*

Amateur chefs from 12 federal agencies brought crock pots full of spicy meat and beans to the Energy Department cafeteria Thursday for the 2015 Feds Feed Families Chili Cook-off.

The competition helps to raise awareness and donations of food for the annual Feds Feed Families campaign.

“In 2009, there was an awareness that we needed as part of the United We Serve campaign to bring in much needed donations into our local food banks and food pantries, where donations usually go down during the summer months when kids are out of school,” said Jennifer McDowell, the 2015 Feds Feed Families National Program Manager.

The campaign is part of a charitable initiative supported by the Office of Personnel Management, the Chief Human Capital Officers Council and the Department of Agriculture.

Feds Feed Families’ 2014 campaign brought in 14.8 million pounds of food across the federal government. Between 2009 and 2014, feds have donated approximately 39 million pounds of food in total.

Deputy Chief Human Capital Officer Tonya Mackey of the Energy Department, USDA CHCO William Milton Jr. and McDowell served as judges for Thursday’s competition. After tasting all the entries, they named the top three winners: