Before the pandemic began, there was little general awareness of the poverty existing in our county. The Covid-19 shutdown has forced us to recognize the vulnerable communities around us that have lost employment and are struggling with food insecurity.
Countywide, food pantries provide much-needed access to groceries, but the offerings can be limited. In addition, food pantry products rely heavily on canned goods and other foods that can be high in carbohydrates but offer little protein. Therefore, there is a critical need for healthy, balanced meals made from fresh ingredients and delivered to people’s homes.
In recognition of this problem, local food advocates and chefs created the Columbia County Recovery Kitchen.
Within a month of conception, CCRK was up and running. The mission: to prepare and deliver nutrient-rich, balanced meals to vulnerable adults and children who have been referred to us by county social service organizations, public school social workers and the Columbia County Sanctuary Movement.
CCRK prepared two hundred dinners the first week. Within a month, the number expanded to eight hundred and now is close to 1000 meals each week. Days in the kitchen grew from three to five. We now prepare and home deliver 1,100 cost-free meals per week.
Professional chef Tommy Carlucci is in charge of the kitchen and manages 15 volunteer cooks. Whether developing menus, ordering from restaurant wholesale suppliers or coordinating donations from local farmers, joy fills the kitchen. Passionate cooks and compassionate, generous people, they prep from scratch, cook and package all the meals for delivery. There is a different team every Monday-Friday.
The meals are delivered by volunteer drivers to homes in 24 towns and the City od Hudson.
Recovery Kitchen is a community effort.
The Christ Church Episcopal (Jamison Teale, Vestry Liaison) loans its kitchen, making it possible for Recovery Kitchen to provide fresh meals each week.
Funding comes from our community of supporters through fundraisers, social media, and direct donations. We have been awarded grants from institutions such as the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, Hudson River Bank and Trust Foundation, Key Bank, Rheinstrom Hill Community Foundation, Broadway Cares, Abbatacola Foundation, The Ackerman Family Foundation, Dyson Foundation, Berkshire Bank, Reinhart Foundation, Walmart Foundation, Golub Foundation, Bank of Greene County, and Greylock Credit Union. This funding makes it possible to continue delivering meals to fight food insecurity in our region.
Who we serve
Adults and children throughout Columbia County are referred to us by the following organizations and agencies:
- Department of Social Services
- Head Start
- Columbia Opportunities
- The REACH Center
- Columbia County Sanctuary Movement
- Columbia County Reentry Program
- Friends of the Hudson Youth Center
- Public school administrators in the Taconic Hills, Ichabod Crane, Germantown, Chatham, and Hudson City school districts (serving families in Philmont, Claverack, Livingston, Taghkanic, Elizaville, Germantown, Copake, Canaan, Copake Falls, Austerlitz, Old Chatham, East Chatham, Chatham, Ghent, Niverville, Stuyvesant, Stuyvesant Falls, Valatie, Ancramdale, Chatham, Kinderhook, Hillsdale, Craryville, Stockport, Stottville, Greenport and Hudson).
- Office of the Aging
- Hospital and Medical Practices
- Columbia County Department of Mental Health
- Self-referrals