Families and individuals throughout Columbia County struggle with food insecurity every day.
Our mission at CCRK, a 501-c3, volunteer-driven organization, is to prepare and deliver nutrient-rich, balanced meals to vulnerable adults and children who have been referred to us for our meal-delivery service.
WHAT WE DO
Countywide, food pantries provide much-needed access to groceries, but the offerings can be limited and rely heavily on canned goods and other foods that are high in carbohydrates and offer less protein.
Using donated fresh local farm food, the talent of our chef and the unwavering commitment of a cadre of volunteer cooks & drivers, we offer a uniquely beneficial service to those locally suffering food insecurity.
HOW IT HAPPENED
In April 2020, in response to the Covid pandemic, CCRK prepared two hundred dinners the first week. Within a month, it was eight hundred meals a week. Days in the kitchen grew from three to five. We now prepare and home deliver 1,150 cost-free meals per week.
PASSIONATE COOKS
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 and cooking, joy fills the kitchen.
Passionate cooks and compassionate, generous people, they prep from scratch, cook and package all the meals for delivery.
Recovery Kitchen is a Community Effort
Thanks to vicars Kathleen Killian and John Allison and vestry liaison Jamison Teale, the Christ Church Episcopal loans its kitchen, making it possible for Recovery Kitchen to provide these 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 Foundation, 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
The generosity of the community has been inspiring; however, additional funding is needed.