Plymouth Congregational and New Hope Baptist United Churches of Christ host a food pantry 10am-12noon on the fourth Saturday of each month at 5301 North Capitol Street NE.
As a reminder, there are several other food pantries in and around the neighborhood.
DC Bilingual Public Charter School Family Food Market (1st Friday monthly, October through June) 33 Riggs Road NE 11:00 am-1:00 pm Produce & shelf stable items For more information, email uejimofor@dcbilingual.org Sponsored by Capital Area Food Bank
Impact DMV Church(1st Saturday monthly) 5335 1st Place NE 11:00 am-1:00 pm Groceries
Faith United Church of Christ (3rd Wednesday monthly) 4900 10th Street NE 9:00 am (food usually runs out by 11:30 am) Produce market and diaper bank
For more information, contact faithuccdc@gmail.com or 202-635-7777.
LaSalle-Backus Elementary School Family Food Market(Typically 3rd Thursday monthly, October through June) 501 Riggs Road NE (enter on Madison Street side of campus) 3:30 pm-5:30 pm (people start lining up as early as 2:30) Produce & shelf stable items
Riggs-LaSalle Recreation Center(3rd Saturday monthly) 501 Riggs Road NE (enter on Nicholson Street side) 11:00 am Fresh produce, canned goods, & fresh quarter chicken Sponsored by Andre Lee (Lee Little League)/Feed My People Ministry
DC’s Office of Planning released a Draft Future Land Use Map (FLUM) for DC’s next Comprehensive Plan that OP is calling DC 2050. The FLUM is designed to provide a view of where different land uses are recommended or planned. The FLUM is important because it can be used to support changes to land use. (Recall that McDonald’s used their requested change to the FLUM to support its quest to upzone their parcel for the sole purpose of putting in a drive-thru as a matter of right. OP signed off on that).
OP is using an approach called Place Types that they say will help make it easier to understand how a property can be used.
Attend OP’s Phase 2 spring workshop on March 21 at Martin Luther King, Jr. Library at 11am to give input on the Draft FLUM.
OP states the changes in the Draft FLUM are designed to do three things:
Increase opportunities for more housing along high-frequency bus routes and metro stations, to direct more housing to neighborhoods that haven’t had a lot of development;
Distribute housing opportunities across DC’s wards, to ensure fair and balanced housing development across the District; and
Allow more types of housing and amenities, to meet the diverse needs of DC’s current and future residents.
OP also provided an explanation of the considerations that went into the Deaft FLUM:
The current Future Land Use Map has an estimated capacity of 445,000 total households. In order to keep housing prices from rising relative to inflation, OP estimates that we will need at least 460,000 households by 2050. The DC 2050 Future Land Use Map proposes adding capacity to meet this new target by identifying new land use changes near transit, in areas that have grown less over the past twenty years, and with additional analysis in areas with the highest risk of displacement.
One thing to keep in mind is that Riggs Park has an approved Riggs Road/South Dakota Avenue Area Development Plan (sometimes referred to as a small area plan) for the commercial corridor. I previously asked OP reps how they intend to incorporate approved plans, which are consensus documents, into the new Comprehensive Plan. They said that for plans approved before a certain year, the plans would be incorporated into the Comp Plan through the FLUM. I do not remember the year OP stated, but it would cover our neighborhood plan, which was approved in 2009.
I do not remember what OP said about small area plans in progress or plans approved after a certain year. It would probably be helpful for OP to put all of this in the explanation.
Check out OP’s DC 2050 website. It has lots of resources to help residents understand how OP is approaching the Comp Plan rewrite.
If you would like to give feedback on the Draft Flum, attend tomorrow’s workshop or stay tuned for OP’s survey.
[Ed. Note: Passing along information about an interesting project for residents interested in participating]
Arts workshop + portrait session on March 28, 2026, at Michigan Park Christian Church. Registration here. More information: DementiaStoriesDC.com. Questions: 202-352-8869.
More details:
Dementia Stories DC is an initiative by The Dap Project that celebrates the lives of D.C. residents living with dementia and Alzheimer’s while raising awareness about the care, connection, and support families need.
The three-part initiative includes:
Arts-based workshops that provide people living with memory loss and their caregivers a meaningful opportunity to connect and learn supportive practices. Workshops will be facilitated by dementia care experts from the George Washington University Institute for Brain Health & Dementia.
Portrait sessions with professional photographers to capture and preserve meaningful moments.
Oral histories with residents living with dementia and their caregivers, honoring their expansive lives and allowing them to shape their own narratives.
The initiative will culminate in a June public exhibit (Alzheimer’s Awareness Month) featuring portraits, photography from the workshops, and oral histories.
To participate, register for an upcoming workshop and portrait session on Eventbrite. Have questions? Email us at DementiaStoriesDC@gmail.com.
DPW to Begin Frontside Household Trash and Recycling Collections this Weekend
Residents Should Expect More Updates on Sunday Evening Based on Progress Made Clearing Pathways through Alleys
(Washington, DC) – The DC Department of Public Works (DPW) has announced that sanitation collections, which were delayed this week due to the winter weather, will resume on Saturday, January 31.
Residential collections will also resume this weekend for households that normally receive frontside trash and recycling collection on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Households that normally receive Monday frontside collection are asked to put their trash and recycling bins out front by 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 31 for pickup on Saturday.
Households that normally receive Tuesday frontside collection are asked to put their trash and recycling bins out front by 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, February 1 for a Sunday pickup.
Starting today, the District is bringing on additional bobcats that will start clearing pathways through the alleys. These pathways will allow DPW collections teams to walk into the alleys. Throughout the weekend, teams will prioritize clearing pathways in alleys that normally get Monday and Tuesday collection.
The goal is that by Monday, DPW can resume household collections on the regular schedule for alleys and frontside. For this coming week, the same trucks will take trash and recycling; households with space in their recycling cans may choose to wait for regular recycling collections to resume before putting their recycling out.
Based on the progress that the Snow Team is able to make in clearing pathways through alleys over the weekend, DPW will provide another collections update on Sunday evening.
DPW teams have also been out doing two 12-hour shifts per day to collect waste from public litter cans. Those two 12-hour shifts will continue throughout the weekend.
For more information regarding DPW services, visit dpw.dc.gov. To report a concern or request service, residents can call 311, visit 311.dc.gov, or use the DC 311 mobile app.
Join Metro Transit Police Department for their annual Holiday Bus event at Fort Totten Metro station on December 18, 2025, 5:30 pm-7:30 pm. Enjoy festive bus decorations, music, and holiday treats.
Update 10/27/2025: Beginning the week of October 27, World Central Kitchen food trucks will distribute meals to federal workers. For more info, visit https://wck.org/news/first-alert-shutdown-25.
Federal Worker Solidarity Fund, hosted by the Community Services Agency of the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO, provides up to $500 in emergency financial assistance for eligible federal workers in the DC region impacted by the government shutdown. Donations may also be made at the link.
Beginning the week of October 20, Capital Area Food Bank will distribute food boxes of produce and shelf stable items to federal workers impacted by the government shutdown on the following days/times. Visitors will need to show government ID.
Anyone in need of food assistance can find the times and locations of additional food distributions among the Capital Area Food Bank’s partner network by visiting the Get Help page. If you have any questions about food assistance or these distributions, please call the Hunger Lifeline at (202) 644-9807.
Neighborhood Food Distributions
DC Bilingual Public Charter School Family Food Market (1st Friday monthly, October through June) 33 Riggs Road NE 11:00 am-1:00 pm Produce & shelf stable items For more information, email uejimofor@dcbilingual.org Sponsored by Capital Area Food Bank
Faith United Church of Christ (3rd Wednesday monthly) 4900 10th Street NE 9:00 am (food usually runs out by 11:30 am) Produce market and diaper bank
For more information, contact faithuccdc@gmail.com or 202-635-7777
LaSalle-Backus Elementary School Family Food Market(Typically 3rd Thursday monthly, October through June) 501 Riggs Road NE (enter on Madison Street side of campus) 3:30 pm-5:30 pm (people start lining up as early as 2:30) Produce & shelf stable items Sponsored by Capital Area Food Bank
Riggs-LaSalle Recreation Center(3rd Saturday monthly) 501 Riggs Road NE (enter on Nicholson Street side) 11:00 am Fresh produce, canned goods, & fresh quarter chicken Sponsored by Andre Lee (Lee Little League)/Feed My People Ministry)
[Ed. Note: Construction report distributed to North Michigan Park Civic Association by McDonald’s Area Construction Manager Eileen Seeburger. Send questions to NPMCA President Carmen Williams at carm8954@aol.com.]
TWO items to note, both included in the attached weekly report:
It was determined at our last meeting that the pest service contract was only for during the demo phase. We have corrected and expect the service back onsite this week.
We are getting closer to confirming dates for street work…I will keep you apprised as soon as dates are confirmed.
1 ITEM NOT NOTED ON THE REPORT:
Tree work on the vacant adjacent property is ‘expected’ to begin this Thursday. I have been in frequent communications with Katie Ricketts our immediately adjacent neighborhood, as well as the church – see additional attached
ANC 5A held a special meeting on September 4, 2025. Commissioners present: Keith Sellars (5A01); Tim Thomas (5A02) – Vice Chair; Emily Singer Lucio (5A03) – Chair; Valeria Sosa Garnica (5A07) – Secretary; Elaine Alston (5A08); Shelagh Bocoum (5A09) – Treasurer.
The ANC voted in support of a resolution to condemn the Trump administration’s federal overreach and deployment of National Guard for police purposes; urge Congress to reject any extension of Trump’s emergency request; and demand the restoration of approximately $1 billion of locally raised funds to DC’s budget. All of the commissioners present voted in support except Commissioner Alston who abstained.
On August 28, 2025, Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker held a townhall on the Trump administration’s federal overreach in DC law enforcement and local affairs. We know that federal agent presence is heavy in Ward 5. They are hanging around federal parkland. They have detained people working as landscapers and construction workers and detained people as they take their children to school. They are showing up to MPD scenes to check people’s immigration status.
CM Parker shared that he was told that the low flying helicopters people had questions about last week were CBP helicopters.
We know that this far-reaching incursion is not limited to MPD though. Even though Trump’s “Crime Emergency in DC” executive order and the Home Rule Act speak to federal request of MPD services, Metro is “cooperating” with federal law enforcement and has permitted a mass presence of federal agents (e.g., HSI, FBI, IRS-CI, CBP) at Fort Totten station (and other stations) along with MPD and Metro Transit Police (MTPD) almost daily for the past two weeks.
At a community meeting on August 26, 2025, DC Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR) and Department of General Services (DGS) presented an updated concept plan for the Riggs & South Dakota Park that will be located on the southwest corner of Riggs Road & South Dakota Avenue NE in Riggs Park.
Instead of a straight path through the row of mature trees, there will be a plaza area on the corner of the green space at Riggs & South Dakota. The plaza will be buffered by plantings of evergreen shrubs. Two benches sit in front of the shrubbery to orient the gaze to the existing mature trees and open green space and a planting bed of native plants. The addition of two trees on the western and eastern edge of the plaza will eventually provide shade for the plaza. There will be two solar powered lights, waste/recycling receptacles, bike racks, and a park sign. Right now the design-build team is planning for brushed concrete for the plaza.
Public Art
The team requested ideas for community-driven public art. Most people seemed supportive of some type of vertical sculpture as opposed to something like a ground mural. Some ideas included having a more playable/interactive artistic element reminiscent of the LOVE sculpture in Philadelphia but perhaps spelling out “Riggs” or something to that effect.
The team suggested that the community come to a consensus about themes/inspiration for the art piece and have that incorporated into the design now because the money is available rather than waiting. Seems like something The Parks Main Street, Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association, and the ANCs can work together on.
Other Ideas
Residents requested a water fountain with bottle filler along with a spigot. The team stated they will need to determine whether there are already water pipes underneath the space. If there are not, building out infrastructure for water would be cost prohibitive.
The team asked about interest in a community garden club for the native plants but residents pointed out that without a water source, it would be difficult for residents to maintain plantings. Residents have asked for a hose bib from the very beginning. We know that the city will not do a good job of maintaining the planting areas given that the city does not do a good job of even mowing the grass on regular basis. So we really want to make sure that anything planted will be able to be maintained.
Commissioner Bocoum asked about having a sign directing people to walk their bikes through the plaza area.
The team stressed again that this is what the budget of $337,000 will support. Residents can certainly work down the line to request more tree plantings and work with the DC Council on funding for additional elements for the space.
Timeline
The new park should be substantially completed by the end of summer 2026.
Next Stop...Riggs Park 