Organizer Elena Tompkins
Feed the Fight began as a neighborhood effort to patronize local restaurants and show support for healthcare workers at the outset of the COVID-19 crisis. Within a week it had become a full-fledged network having a positive impact across D.C., Maryland and Virginia (DMV).
Feed the Fight has the double impact of driving business to local restaurants working to stay operational and thanking healthcare workers fighting on the front lines of this unprecedented crisis.
Feed the Fight is a true volunteer effort, powered by the hard work of volunteers and participating restaurants, and propelled by the generous support from donors all over the country. Get to know some of our volunteers below.
Elena Tompkins • Sarah Cannova • Kathleen Jenkins • Jason Torchinsky • Melanie Wine • Erin Dixon • Ken Schulz • Caroline Greene • Jamie Edwards • Caroline Cooper
Elena has always had a keen love and appreciation for the restaurant industry, given her lack of skills in the kitchen. When the order came down closing restaurants, she was motivated to make sure they would be around once this crisis was over. A middle of the night idea turned into an amazing community effort to support both our local restaurants AND our healthcare workers and first responders. The outpouring of support from friends and neighbors has been overwhelming and heart warming. The team of volunteers running day to day operations is made up of highly successful professionals who are giving hours and hours of their time everyday to make sure our goal of reaching as many front line workers and small restaurants as possible is achieved.
Elena lives in Georgetown with her husband, Bob, a Partner at Holland & Knight – who penned the name Feed the Fight – and their children, Jack a freshman at Gonzaga and Katie, a 6th grader at St. Patrick’s. Elena is the Founder of Tompkins Strategies LLC, a lobbying firm started in 2012 that specializes in healthcare issues.
Sarah has lived in DC for 20 years, most of which in the Spring Valley neighborhood with her husband, four kids and 2 Boston Terriers. Sarah was the co-owner of local retail chain, Sassanova (which she sold after 14 years), co-founder of the Babylove organization (now part of DC Diaper bank), school volunteer and is always finding ways to immerse herself in the community around her. When Elena first asked a few friends to help feed their nearby hospitals with food from their go-to restaurants, Sarah jumped on the chance to help her bring on more neighborhood restaurants, connect to more hospitals and creatively think of how to grow the idea. Sarah is thrilled to see how far good will and good people can go together when given the opportunity.
With a love for the handwritten note and an obsession with beautiful paper, Kathleen Jenkins founded Georgetown Paperie in 2008.
Over the years, she has enjoyed working with clients both locally in the Washington DC area and across the country to create custom paper goods – each piece carrying with it her fondness for detail, simplicity and distinctiveness.
She is grateful to have worked with Elena and Sarah on several personal projects (from baby shower invitations to holiday cards) and jumped at the chance when they asked to create the logo for Feed the Fight. She feels that participating with them in a part of the launch of this wonderful organization is truly an honor.
She lives in Georgetown with her husband, their two teen daughters and their beloved long-haired Jack Russell Terrier, Rascal (who lives up to his name.)
Melanie Wine was searching for an opportunity to transition from the corporate world into nonprofit management when the COVID-19 crisis began. She connected with FtFDC’s founder after its first week in operation…and the rest is history. She loves being a part of this amazing “start up” team. Prior to joining Feed the Fight, Melanie worked as a project manager for 20+ years in management consulting and information technology firms. She and her husband have lived in Bethesda, MD for 20 years. Their two children will hopefully get to attend college and grad school “in-person” this fall.
Erin Dixon was traveling abroad when the COVID-19 crisis hit and experienced first-hand the trepidation felt by others eagerly hoping to get home before the borders were closed. Once back in Washington, D.C., Erin along with her coworkers at Reservoir Communications Group felt a strong calling to get involved and help support the Washington, D.C. region. After learning about Feed the Fight and the positive impact the program was having on local restaurants, health care workers and first responders, the Reservoir team offered to provide pro bono strategic communications services and media management to help drive greater awareness and engagement within the community.
Ken is a Washington DC native who, despite now living in the Sunshine State, is excited to be assisting the Feed the Fight effort in his hometown. The collective actions of Feed the Fight hit close to home, since he came into this world at Sibley Hospital and has been visiting Cactus Cantina, Blacksalt and other participating restaurants since they first opened their doors.
Ken lives with his wife and three children in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL. Professionally, he is a public affairs consultant at Abundance Media and works with small businesses at Pipeline. In his spare time, he follows and coaches his kids’ athletic teams, runs, surfs and plays golf and tennis.
When COVID-19 hit, Caroline reached out to nurses and doctors in DC and Virginia and asked how she could help. Their respond was simple: get us food and supplies. Caroline quickly teamed up with Feed the Fight to help deliver meals and founded Supply Love, supplylove.com, a local organization that makes masks and collects supplies for hospitals and first responders in the DC Metro Area. She couldn’t be more proud of the Feed the Fight team and all it has accomplished. A graduate of Yale University and UVA School of Law, Caroline lives in the Palisades with her husband, two children and two rescue dogs.
Jamie Edwards is an avid traveler, travel writer, and photographer, who has lived in the Palisades neighborhood of DC since 2010. She and her husband Daniel, a volunteer EMT at Bethesda Chevy Chase Rescue Squad, have two kids and two big black labs. When the pandemic hit, Jamie saw that many of her favorite local restaurants needed business, while many first responders needed meals. With the support of her community, Jamie and her family launched an effort to raise funds and feed local firehouses. Within a week, Jamie teamed up with Feed the Fight. When she isn’t helping first responders, Jamie works on her adventure travel website, iamlostandfound.com, to inspire others to travel and explore.
Caroline Cooper is the executive producer of brand journalism at Fannie Mae, where she creates and distributes content around its affordable housing mission.
Previously, she worked as a producer in television news, including at “Dan Rather Reports,” CBS News “60 Minute”” and ABC News “Nightline.” Caroline is a volunteer at Meals on Wheels in Chevy Chase, MD and a member of Many Hands DC, a women’s collective grantmaking organization.
If you are interested in sponsoring Feed the Fight, please contact us for details.
We encourage you to follow us on Instagram @feedthefightdc and Facebook @feedthefightdc.
