The Washington Nationals are one of five finalists for the 2026 Allan H. Selig Award for Philanthropic Excellence, as announced today by Major League Baseball. The Nationals, who won the prestigious award in 2024 for a decade of community impact through the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, are being recognized for their work to expand access to healthy food in D.C. The Academy’s food access initiatives have supported the delivery of more than 1.4 million meals into the community since 2018 and will distribute at least 100,000 meals into communities that need it most this year. Fans can help vote for the final award recipient through Friday, Oct. 16, at mlb.com/Selig-Award.
The Nationals Youth Baseball Academy is located in Ward 7 – across the Anacostia River from Nationals Park – where a lack of reliable food access points fuels food insecurity in many communities. More than 50 percent of Ward 7 is classified as a concentrated food desert, experiencing a ratio of one grocery store for every 55,000 to 60,000 residents as compared to one per 10,000 residents in wealthier areas.
The Nationals have leveraged the Academy as a community hub, expanding food access through direct meal distribution, nutrition education, a deeply subsidized weekly produce market – the only year-round produce market in Ward 7, and grants to community-based food access partners, supporting thousands of residents across the Washington, D.C. region.
The winner of the Allan H. Selig Award for Philanthropic Excellence, which was created in 2010 to annually recognize the charitable and philanthropic efforts of MLB Clubs, will be selected by a distinguished panel that assesses each Club’s ability to address or respond to an important community need or problem and produce desired community impact. Fans can help vote for the final award recipient through Friday, Oct. 16, at mlb.com/Selig-Award. The Nationals were the winner of the fan vote, a key component in determining the overall winner, in 2024 when the Club won the award for the first time.
To learn more about the Academy’s food access programs and initiatives, visit nats4good.org/food-access.