Press Archives - Columbia County Recovery Kitchen

The Third Act: older adults volunteering locally

Columbia Country Recovery Kitchen was recently featured in an article by Deborah E. Lans for The Columbia Paper. Below is an excerpt from the article, “The Third Act – Older Adults Volunteering Locally”, originally published November 10, 2023, on Upstarter:

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Today, three and one-half years later, the organization is still powered by volunteers, including some 80 drivers, mostly retirees. The only paid employees are the chefs, Tommy Carlucci and Kathy Stillman. CCRK serves 1,200 meals per week and hopes to increase that number. It serves individuals as well as the Boys & Girls Club, Hudson’s Head Start programs and others, with some 30 farms donating food. Recipients are identified through social service agencies, the Sanctuary Movement and self-referral.

If anything, the need is greater today, as poverty rates have increased since the cessation of pandemic funding to individuals. Nearly 40% of county residents earn less than what is considered a “survival budget for a family of four.”

CCRK’s main funding source is individual donations, most in the range of $25-50. The first “customer” of CCRK returned two years later to make a donation of $100.

For Tommy Carlucci, CCRK’s chef, earlier work he had done at a “soup kitchen” in Stottville opened his eyes to the face of hunger in the area. He was “shocked” to see that everyone “looked like me. It wasn’t only the homeless, elderly and disabled who needed help.” The long-time chef sees his work at CCRK as his final act, and his ambition is to turn out 6,000 meals/week, which he feels would provide at least one meal/day to all those in need.

Two of CCRK’s volunteers are Steve and Helen Lobel of Austerlitz. Both retired executives had volunteered for years as mentors at the Chatham Middle School and in other community positions, but the work with CCRK was especially powerful. (Ms. Lobel has since joined the CCRK Board.) “The scope of hunger and poverty that we saw as we began to deliver food was unexpected and stunning,” according to Ms. Lobel. Moreover, the work expanded their understanding of the county, “taking us out of our usual social circle and allowing us to meet others in our community,” said Mr. Lobel.

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The story can be read in its entirety at: https://theupstater.com/the-columbia-paper/the-third-act-older-adults-volunteering-locally/

COLUMBIA OPPORTUNITIES AND COLUMBIA COUNTY RECOVERY KITCHEN FORM PARTNERSHIP

Hudson’s two Head Start classrooms will now receive daily lunches prepared by chefs Tommy Carlucci and Kathy Silliman who recently joined CCRK. Tina Sharpe, executive director of Columbia Opportunities, announced the partnership saying: “We were not entirely satisfied with the quality or quantity of the meals provided by our former caterers, especially after our teachers reported that the children weren’t eating their lunches. We knew that CCRK was offering fresh, healthy and high-quality foods with much of it donated by local farms and producers, and reached out to them.”

The result! Five days a week, Head Start children, some as young as two years old, are eating lunches prepared in the CCRK kitchens and picked up by Head Start staff. But before the school year even began, chefs Carlucci and Silliman sat down with Head Start teachers to discuss what food children like but more importantly, what they disliked! Not only that, they prepared sample meals for the staff to taste.

As Sharpe points out, for many of the children, this is the first foods they have eaten that has not been prepared at home and for some, this is the main meal of the day. The big takeaway, which according to chefs Carlucci and Silliman is universal, is that young children do not like mixtures or even foods that touch. “For instance,” says Sharp, “the kids like spaghetti and they like meatballs but they will always be served separately.”

The hope is that the Head Start/CCRK partnership will expand to the other four Columbia County towns, Chatham, Taconic Hills, Valatie and Philmont. “We are so pleased to expand our reach, “says Carole Clark, one of the founders of CCRK, particularly for young children who don’t always have access to local and fresh foods. This is a win win for everyone.”

WEDNESDAY MORNING IN THE KITCHEN

Chef Tommy Carlucci arrives around 8 to get things started. Today’s menu is macaroni and cheese with chard from Common Hands Farm, and hot Italian sausage from Pigasso Farms. For 40 pounds of pasta, Tommy sets four enormous pots of water to boil, and pre-heats the oven for the sausage. By 9 when volunteers start turning up, the kitchen is already a steam bath.

Three or four volunteers help every weekday. Each team has found its own division of labor. On Wednesdays it’s Dee, Kathy and Jonathan. Dee usually dishes out, taking care to keep the portions equal. The others call Kathy “the Lid Lady;” she mainly garnishes the plates, snaps their covers on and stacks them. Jonathan mixes the tubs of pasta and sauce, and does a little of whatever else needs doing.

Tommy has spent a lifetime in kitchens. What’s the difference between the volunteer teams and the staff in a restaurant? “The volunteers are all kindred spirits, here for the same reason,” he says. “In a professional kitchen—not that they don’t enjoy it—but they’re there for the money. And of any five, there are probably two I’d take to my grave with me, but the others are most likely transients.”

There’s almost always a little more food prepared than will be delivered. This day the team’s target is 176 dinners, but they end up with 210. Extras don’t go to waste; on his way home, Tommy will deliver some to each of three free-food fridges. On other days overage might go to the Salvation Army’s kitchen, or to the Hudson Youth Center.

Tommy likes to have music on. It’s usually 80s and 90s folk or rock. This morning, though, it’s a playlist of Sanskrit chants, which prompts a conversation about karma. It also inspires him to muse, “What about a curry sometime? We haven’t done that.” Karma isn’t the only mystery in this kitchen. Cases of plates and lids arrive from the supplier with equal numbers of each. But at CCRK there are always lids left over. Who can say why?

What have the volunteers learned from their participation? “The presentation is so important,” Kathy says. “If the meals don’t look appetizing, people won’t like them.” Dee was sobered to realize that “so many people are hungry. In this country! And here we’re only scratching the surface.”

By the time the volunteers are finishing up, Tommy is beginning to prep for Thursday’s meal. “Next Wednesday,” he tells his helpers, we’re going to continue exploring the possibilities of macaroni and cheese. But I think it will be fettuccini with tomato cream, plus whatever protein and fresh greens we’ve got.”

It’s 10:45. The work tables are wiped spotless. The stove is off. Dinners are stacked five high, waiting for the delivery volunteers who’ll collect them in the afternoon. Dee, Kathy and Jonathan are gone. Tommy is on the phone with the wholesaler, ordering supplies. Sanskrit chants are still murmuring in the background.

A New Gleaning Program

We are so excited to announce the CCRK Gleaning Program! This is an opportunity to create a sense of connection to our community, land and food, and to have fun while also taking care and learning about farmland. Volunteers will partake in and learn about harvesting, weeding, planting, watering, and seeding throughout the season. It is a great opportunity to learn, connect with others, and have fun. And of course, help give our CCRK recipients the opportunity to eat and enjoy healthy, freshly harvested produce that is delicious.

Our first participating farm is Common Hands Farm, a certified naturally grown farm in Philmont, NY that has been in production since 2011, growing diverse vegetables, herbs, microgreens and a few fruits in biodynamic soil. They also raise pastured eggs. Owners Dan McManus and Keri-Sue Lewis have a CSA (community supported agriculture), they sell to local and regional stores and restaurants, and attend local farmers markets. Their farm is roughly 24 acres with the Agawamuck Creek running through it on Martindale Road (County Route 11). The farm is community oriented, with a mission to create connections with local people and food through CSA membership, volunteer and learning programs, community events, and employment opportunities. They believe that food is medicine and everyone should have access to healthy, delicious, locally grown food in Columbia County and beyond. https://www.commonhandscsa.com

To learn more about our Gleaning Program and to sign up to participate, please reach out to our intrepid Nancy Kuster, who is organizing the initiative, at: nancyjkuster@gmail.com

A Special Thank You

CCRK is thrilled that Dirty Dog Farm, a 100% Grass Fed and Grass Finished Beef Farm in Germantown, has come up with a new customer opportunity that benefits CCRK and rewards those in our community for all you do.

Customers can use the code CCRK2023 at checkout when signing up for Dirty Dog’s Grass Fed Beef Spring Harvest (at this link). This link will save you $50 on a Beef Share AND every time the code is used Dirty Dog will donate 5 pounds of beef to CCRK. It’s a true win-win put together by some amazingly gifted and generous farms.

They also offer a standalone option to donate beef to CCRK by purchasing it at a wholesale price: https://dirtydogfarm.com/products/columbia-county-recovery-kitchen-beef-donation

Deposits for the Spring Harvest close on May 1.

Columbia County Recovery Kitchen Honors The Farmers and Producers Who Contribute Food

Farmers and producers who contribute food for meals served each week by the Columbia County Recovery Kitchen were recognized at an event on March 18 at Christ Church Episcopal where the kitchen used to prepare the food each week is located.

Started in the beginning of COVID by Carole Clark and Pam Kline to address food insecurity in the county, the all-volunteer organization with its chef, the only paid employee, has grown from delivering 200 meals a week to over 1150. And it has done so without reliance on commodity or USDA surplus food. Working with the local agricultural community , CCRK now has relationships with over 26 farms. “It is the CCRK’s connection to the land and the farms that makes us different,” says Kline.

According to chef Tommy Carlucci, “Very often we don’t know what’s coming into our kitchen each week. There might be greens from Wally Farm or pork from Fat Apple Farm. The product is always fresh, well raised and exciting to work with. It allows for creativity and the pleasure of knowing that we are providing healthy and good tasting meals to our recipients.” The menu featured dishes highlighting some of the donated foods including Swedish meat balls, beer braised beef kielbasa, pulled pork sliders, mini frittatas and pork belly with hoisin sauce, farmstead cheese and local beers.

“The party was a grand, beautiful team effort and important event for CCRK, “said Clarkewho from the start said: “We are not going to deliver food that I would not serve in my restaurant or home. A significant expression of our appreciation for the farmers who make this happen was long overdue.”

Food Insecurity in Columbia County is Real and Likely to Grow in the Months Ahead

by Stephanie Sussman, Claverack

(published on Imby at: https://imby.com/post/154148 on March 13, 2023)

At the March 6 CD19 Town Hall in Claverack, Congressman Marc Molinaro was asked whether he supported the end of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Emergency Allotments on March 1, reducing benefits by hundreds of dollars for some individuals and families, causing harm to his constituents already struggling with food insecurity at a time when food prices have increased 10 percent in the last year.

In Columbia County, over 11.5 percent of the population is food insecure. Individuals with disabilities, seniors and low-income working families struggle to put food on the table. Two thirds of SNAP recipients are families with children. Even while receiving pandemic related Emergency Allotments, recipients had to rely on food pantries, community refrigerators, Meals on Wheels, the Salvation Army kitchen and the Columbia County Recovery Kitchen, to have enough to eat.

In his opening remarks to the audience, Congressman Molinaro told the audience that while growing up his family received food stamps, the common term for SNAP benefits, and that as a member of the Congressional Agriculture Committee he would be working to pass the 2023 Farm Bill in September, to protect and conserve farmland to ensure food security in our country. The Farm Bill also includes food stamp policies that provide benefits for 40 million Americans struggling with food insecurity.

Congressman Molinaro fashions himself a moderate Republican and a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus. The Congressman defended ending emergency allotments stating that when the emergency is over, at some point it is time to move forward from executive order to policy. But is it over when the inflationary costs have raised food prices, rents, and as the Congressman recognized, the lack of transportation and long drives to get to and from work in rural areas compounds the situation. The Republican Party has already targeted cuts to the food stamp program in their budget cutting proposals.

Decreasing food stamps benefits will exacerbate the ongoing financial issues for families already struggling to meet their needs. When pressed about what will happen in the meantime, Congressman Molinaro said “we will have to navigate a way to support the most vulnerable with the reauthorization of the Farm Bill.” Politicians may be able to wait 6 months for a vote to pass the 2023 Farm Bill in September, but families in crisis in Columbia County and across the country need real solutions now.

Thank You For Giving

We concluded our annual Thanks4Giving fund drive last week and we can’t say it enough: Thank you!! Because of your generosity, we exceed the amount raised last year and will now be able to continue expanding the number of households we serve in Columbia County. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

And we would also like to extend the most heartfelt thank you to the foundations that awarded us grants during this fundraising cycle as well. Those include: Hudson River Bank and Trust Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation Broadway Cares Key Bank Utopia Foundation Abbatacola Foundation Dyson Foundation Walmart Reinhart Foundation Berkshire Bank The Ackerman Family Foundation and Price Chopper!

MEET TOMMY CARLUCCI

After splitting responsibilities with Chef Jamie, Tommy is now is taking over the CCRK kitchen and leading the preparation of 1100 meals every week. Here are some things you should know about him!

He got his start working at Tom’s Luncheonette, his father’s establishment in New York City. After moving to Spencertown, Carlucci headed kitchens at the now closed fine dining establishment, Quintessence, in Albany, Chatham’s Blue Plate, Hawthorne Valley and most recently the Chatham Food Coop. His catering business, Carlucci Catering, did events for such diverse organizations as Art Omi, the Columbia Land Conservancy and the Spencertown Fire Department.

Carlucci came to cooking during what he calls his “Kerouac years.” He was on the road for several years, “running towards something, not away” he says, and realized that cooking allowed him to work anywhere. Despite his years of experience in the kitchen, Carlucci says: “No one can call me a chef. I am a cook”

“My goal at CCRK is to do restaurant quality meals, “he says. “I try to rotate meals so each week recipients receive a different dish than the week before. I also try to get feedback. For instance, the Hudson Youth Center gets eighty meals on Monday but we never send fish!”

He is also reviving his catering business, now called Thomas Carlucci Catering, but intending to restrict it to small events. “I have one job now,” he says,” I grew up in a Bronx neighborhood of Italians and Jews where everyone would want to feed me. Food was love and that’s how I feel about this job.”