2022 Leadership in Aging Honoree | Mark Bucher

Mark Bucher, Co-Owner of Medium Rare restaurants and Founder of Feed the Fridge, found his way into the restaurant industry almost accidentally. He was in the business of identifying potential sites for restaurants when, in 2007, he decided to start one of his own.

Mark Bucher believes that everyone deserves the dignity of a nutritious meal. His team has delivered restaurant-quality meals to older adults throughout the COVID-19 pandemic including many Seabury participants.

“I always knew that I wanted to support the community that supported me,” Bucher says, reflecting back on the start of his restaurant career. On Thanksgiving of 2007, Bucher and his team cooked a meal at a church and food pantry in Bethesda. Efforts to feed the local population only grew from there, especially as he learned that many older adults were silently going hungry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bucher explains that some of the people he delivered meals to had not even told their family members that they were struggling. When he asked why they had not reached out for help, he often heard “I don’t want them to worry.”

Bucher’s father passed away before the pandemic started but he knew that it would have been difficult to coordinate meals for him during such a tumultuous time. Food insecurity and social isolation are major issues that affect thousands of older adults. Bucher has had a huge impact on the Washington D.C. region, serving over 25,000 meals to local older adults, including special holiday meals for some of the individuals that Seabury serves. He is determined to keep finding innovative ways to address hunger in the region and his dedication supports Seabury’s mission of helping everyone age with dignity. “The same rush that a rockstar gets when they walk out on stage to perform is the rush that a chef gets when they open a new restaurant, which now equals the rush that I feel when I find new ways or better ways to help others. I live every day trying to find that rush.” Because of Mark Bucher thousands of older adults in the region worry less about food insecurity. Join us as we celebrate Mark on May 19! Visit seaburyresources.org/lia to purchase tickets. Proceeds from the event fight food insecurity and combat social isolation for local older adults.