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Since the pandemic started last spring, the Columbia County Recovery Kitchen has delivered over 24,000 healthy dinners to families in need throughout the county. The number of its volunteers has also swelled. The Recovery Kitchen chef Jamie Parry now works full time, managing up to 7 volunteer cooks and 9 kitchen helpers. Passionate and compassionate, these generous people prep from scratch, cook and package all the meals, which are then passed on to five volunteers who distribute the meals to over 90 drivers.  Christ Church Episcopal in Hudson provides the kitchen and the First Presbyterian Church has managed the Recovery Kitchen’s finances.

The operation has been effective and successful in combating the problem of hunger in the County, which has been greatly exacerbated by the covid pandemic.  

Currently, the families and individuals who receive food from the Recovery Kitchen are referred by the county’s Department of Social Services, Head Start, Columbia Opportunities, the REACH Center, the Columbia County Reentry Program, Friends of the Hudson Youth Center, and administrators from nearly all the county public schools.  

Recently, however, the Recovery Kitchen founders, Carole Clark and Pamela Kline, are wondering if they are still missing many people who struggle with food insecurity. One of the drivers last month reported that a client had complained of a neighbor stealing meals off his porch.  In another recent incident, a driver was delivering a dinner to one house and suddenly a person from the house next door ran over saying they were hungry and asked for a spare meal. The solution: add the both neighbors to the delivery list. 

However, Clark and Kline are concerned that many families who suffer from food insecurity are unrecorded and that the upcoming hard winter will only increase this hidden population.  So how many are there and how can they be reached? The Recovery Kitchen now has the capacity to extend its outreach for the foreseeable future.  

To recommend families who might need its services, please contact   info@columbiacountyrecoverykitchen.org.

The Recovery Kitchen could never have happened without the creative and hard work of our professional chefs and cooks as well as the unsung hero volunteers who keep the kitchen organized and spotless.  Our special thanks to Jamie Parry, our founding and current chef, and to John Carr, his fellow founder, now back at Le Perche. 

With deepest appreciation,

Carole Clark, Pam Kline, Carol Peckham.  Directors, Columbia County Recovery Kitchen 

Chefs and Cooks

Kitchen Volunteers

Usha Berlin

Nicole Cherubini

Janina Dieppe

Joan Feder 

Jan and Lester Greenburg

Tully Hedley

Betty Isler

Carol Moore

Bebe Pebworth

Our great appreciation to the indispensible volunteers who pick up the meals from the Recovery Kitchen each day and distribute them to the drivers, who deliver each one to the families across Columbia County. 

With great gratitude,

Carole Clark, Pam Kline, Carol Peckham.  Directors, Columbia County Recovery Kitchen 

Distribution Team

Madelyn Benoit

Karen Rosand

Moira Stone

Drivers

Chris Aker

Elisabeth Albert

Perry Asher

Dave Baylen

Cleo Berliner

Peter Bevacqua

Cheryl Bickett

Carol Block

Rose Caldwell

Lynn Clark

Barbara And Ken Cooke

David Craw

Margaret Davidson

Joanne Delrossi

Janina Dieppe

Tom Ehrich

Steven Eidman

Judith Engel

Noel Fair

Joan Feder

Jean Feinberg

Georgene Gardner

Jan And Lester Greenburg

Julie Harrington

Christina Harris

Tully Hedley

Sophie Henderson

David Henry

Angie Hickman

Sam Hodge

Susan Hunt

Bob Ihlenburg

Beverly Ingleburger

Betty Isler

Lee Jamison

Anya Kanevskaya

Kaarla Kavanaugh

Judy Keefer

Mary Keegan

Susan Krim

Betsy Lamb

Abby Lappen

Carol Lavender

Sarah Lazarus

Laura Lerner

Lauren Liberati

John Luckacovic

Barbara Maccormack

Mark Macdonald

Steve Maggio

Shaina Marron

Tracy Martin

Alison Matheny

Judi Mathews

Courtney Mcdowell

Sara Mcwilliams

Sandi Meyers

David Miller

Laura Miller

Carol Moore

Maureen Mueller

Alanna Navitski

Ariana Nilsson

Eleanor Oldham

Jennifer Ose Macdonald

Dina Palin

Bebe Pebworth

Stuart Peterson

Liz Phillips

Deborah Pierce

Dwayne Resnick

Jeff Rigby

Mary Ellen Ross

Lisa Ross

Molly Salisbury

Melanie Sears

Susan Silverman

Valerie Spensieri

Rebecca Stowe

Christian Sweningsen

Laura Teague

Bart Thibadeau

Mike Tizekker

Mike Tizekker Sr

Malgosia Turzanska

Karen Vecellio

Melinda Wax

Craig Westcott

Zoe Wohlfeld

Priscilla Woolworth

Cathy Zises

We are so grateful to our friends at Christ Church Episcopal for the use of their kitchen and facilities, which has enabled us to prepare and deliver food to families in need throughout the past difficult months. 

With our great appreciation,

Carole Clark, Pam Kline, Carol Peckham.  Directors, Columbia County Recovery Kitchen 

Our deepest appreciation to our friends at First Presbyterian Church and especially Theresa Parsons, who has managed the donations and expenses that allowed us to launch and continue the Recovery Kitchen operations. 

With gratitude,

Carole Clark, Pam Kline, Carol Peckham.  Directors, Columbia County Recovery Kitchen 

We are very grateful to the many local organizations that contributed their services, which were critical in launching and sustaining the Recovery Kitchen.

With deepest appreciation,

Carole Clark, Pam Kline, Carol Peckham.  Directors, Columbia County Recovery Kitchen

Our great thanks to the local farms and other providers whose donations of produce, meat, and other foods have fed many families with healthy meals this year.

With deepest appreciation,

Carole Clark, Pam Kline, Carol Peckham.  Directors, Columbia County Recovery Kitchen