A New Grant to Help a Recovery Kitchen Keep On Cooking

The HRBT Foundation has approved a grant of $1,000 for the Columbia County Recovery Kitchen, an extraordinary project founded and launched by Carole Clark, a former chef and proprietor of Charleston Restaurant. 

At the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Clark decided to create a pop-up kitchen to supply the greatly increased demand for food in response to the coronavirus and subsequent unemployment in Columbia County. To quickly produce the structure and organization for the Kitchen, she solicited assistance from local professionals, churches, and other organizations.  

Clark first brought on Pamela Kline of Livingston to help with organizing this effort and two Hudson chefs, who were out of work during the pandemic: Swoon's chef Jaime Parry and le Perche's John Carr. The Episcopal Christ Church loaned their kitchen, the First Presbyterian Church provided the basis for collecting donations; and the sponsorship of the Columbia County Democratic Committee supplied liability insurance. 

By April, the Columbia County Recovery Kitchen was up and cooking. By early June, the chefs were preparing over 900 dinners a week, and the numbers continue to climb. Volunteer drivers pick up and deliver them to families in Hudson and 25 towns throughout the county. Families are referred by the Columbia County Sanctuary Movement, Columbia County Social Services, social workers and administrators of the County public schools, Headstart, Reach, and Columbia Opportunities.

Current resources are sufficient to fund the kitchen for a couple of months, and the HRBT grant will certainly help, but it is impossible to predict when the crisis will end. There is wide consensus that food insecurity will continue beyond the opening of the economy, as the volume of business will most likely be inadequate to bring back all those lost jobs.

The underserved people of Columbia County will continue to need resources such as the Recovery Kitchen for the foreseeable future. To donate go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-recovery-kitchen-for-the-food-emergency

Here's one mother's response to the delivery of healthy dinners to her home. "It was delicious and my kids ate everything and it was nice I didn't have to cook and clean up for the first time in 234,567 days. I know I'm a bit far from Hudson but I really appreciated it. A few weeks ago I wasn't sure I'd even be able to feed my family so my appreciation is beyond words." 

For more information contact: Carole Clark at carole.s.clark@hotmail.com or call 518-851-8987.

The Salvation Army Needs You Now!

The Salvation Army Service Center has been the primary soup kitchen in Columbia County for years, serving  lunches five days a week. Since the

coronavirus epidemic, the demand has doubled. Typically, 35 lunches was a busy day. Now the cooks are serving nearly 90 people during every lunchtime. It also provides a food pantry three days a week. 

The Service Center has taken unprecedented measures to keep its doors open and continue to serve those in need, while at the same time ramping up efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus, especially among the homeless and other vulnerable populations.

Hot lunches are still served to anyone in need from 11:30am- 12:30pm at 40 South 3rdStreet in Hudson, but they are now boxed, bagged, and left for individuals to pick up.  The pickup area is spread out so the clients are safely spaced.   The Salvation Army will continue to have a food pantry but will be pre-filling bags with food, and pleased on outside tables The bags will be available Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 8:00am to 10:00am. The families can pick up bags on an outside table one at a time and avoid waiting in line next to each other. 

Volunteers also deliver food to the elderly and people with compromised immune systems who are hesitant to go to the grocery store or our food pantry because of their high risk for infection by the corona virus.   

The Salvation Army Service Center is a resource to all Columbia County residents. If they can’t help with a specific need they refer the client to another agency that can.  Our mission is to help the underserved and the people who need it the most.  For example, we are now working with the County Social Services to deliver food to the motels that serve the homeless.

The Center now face shortages and needs additional food and supplies to meet this sudden increase in demand. The stockpiles provided by local supermarkets and the Regional Food Bank are insufficient. Traditionally, its fundraising efforts are in the winter holiday season, but they confront the need to raise more money now.

Please help.  You can donate online at https://give.salvationarmyusa.org/give/164006/#!/donation/checkout or send a check to the Salvation Army, PO Box 746, Hudson NY 12534 or drop it off at 40 South Third Street and thank these wonderful people from safe distance. 

Top Chefs in a Pop-up Soup Kitchen

With the closure of high-end restaurants in Hudson during the coronavirus duration, Swoon's chef Jaime Parry and Le Perche's John Carr were temporarily out of work.  Jamie had been trained at Montrachet and Tribeca Grill in New York and John had a distinguished career at Sfogia and with Eli Zabar in the city before they came north.  Both have been creating high-end dinners in Hudson for several years. Now, they were hoping to use their talents to help during the crisis.

First they found an outlet for their skills cooking lunches at the venerable Salvation Army kitchen, which has been serving food for years and had seen a doubling of demand within a week of the outbreak.

Then Carole Clark approached them with a remarkable idea. She wanted to create a fully working soup kitchen within a month. Clark, herself a former chef, was proprietor of Charleston Restaurant, an early fine dining restaurant that served Hudson long before the onslaught of New York City expats. Now quarantined, Clark was also looking for a way to serve from home the growing numbers of families in need.

Given the emergency and the temporary nature of the soup kitchen, she decided against forming her own non-profit.  Instead, with the help of her friend Pamela Kline, she gathered local religious, political, and established non-profits to provide the structure and systems she needed to get started.

The Episcopal Christ Church loaned their kitchen, the First Presbyterian Church provided the basis for collecting donations; and the sponsorship of the Columbia County Democratic Committee supplied liability insurance.

So the Columbia County Recovery Kitchen was born.

Now Clark needed the people to feed and the means to feed them. Her focus was on, but not limited to, the particularly vulnerable immigrant communities. So, she reached out to the county social services, the Columbia County Sanctuary Movement, and public school social workers, who provided the lists of recipients. With the help of these agents and local towns, she also found volunteer drivers to deliver the meals.

The local established soup kitchens rely mostly on generous but random donations from supermarkets and the regional food bank. Unlike them, the Recovery Kitchen does not receive food donations but is relying on private donations, a GoFundMe campaign, and a grant from the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation.  This gives Parry and Carr the unique opportunity to develop their own menus, purchase selected ingredients from wholesalers and local farms, and cook healthy delicious meals for people who need them the most and who have the least access to them.

This remarkable kitchen was up in running within a month of conception, with Carole Clark and Pam Kline splitting the organizational and management tasks to maintain a smooth running operation. On day 3 after its launch on April 24, Jamie and John created 200 dinners.

The funding sources for the Recovery Kitchen are most likely not sustainable over the long term, but the money they are now bringing in should keep the kitchen going until the end of the crisis and, with luck, beyond. And when asked what he would do when restaurants opened again, Parry said, "This has brought me back to the beginning, cooking for people. I will find a way to continue what we have started."


Please donate at https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-recovery-kitchen-for-the-food-emergency

For volunteering email tpklinee@gmail.com; for all other information on the Recovery Kitchen email carole.s.clark@hotmail.com.

Small Food Markets Beyond Hudson

This list includes small grocery stores and markets in towns within Columbia County but outside Hudson and Greenport.  At this time we are not listing farm stands that are closed or do not allow online mail orders. As always we welcome corrections and updates. 

Some markets offer Doorstep Deliverers, an organization of volunteers who bring food to the elderly and other at-risk populations. Call individual store for information https://www.doorstepdeliverers.org/request-a-delivery.  

Market	Pick-up	Delivery		Phone Number	Website/Facebook  (Check here for open hours, menus, and updates)
ANCRAM
Market	Pick-up	Delivery		Phone Number	Website/Facebook  (Check here for open hours, menus, and updates)
Herondale Farm Store 90 Wiltsie Bridge Rd, Ancramdale	Yes			518-329-3769	herondalefarm.com and https://www.facebook.com/herondalefarm/  Order by email before 11 AM for same day pick-up. Include telephone number.
Jo Jo’s Pizzeria, 1015 State Route 82, West Taghkanic.	Yes			518-851-6567		https://www.facebook.com/jojospizzeria12502/ Wed-Sun Noon -7 PM
CANAAN
Market	Pick-up	Delivery		Phone Number	Website/Facebook  (Check here for open hours, menus, and updates)
Canaan General Store, 13361 NY-22,	Yes			5188-781-7900
CHATHAM
Market	Pick-up	Delivery		Phone Number	Website/Facebook  (Check here for open hours, menus, and updates)
Bimis Cheese, 21 Main St	Yes			518-392-8811	https://www.bimischeese.com Check website for online order instructions
Chatham Real Food Market Coop, 15 Church Street	Yes			518-392-3353	Online orders https://chatham-real-food-market-co-op.myshopify.com/pages/about-ordering For same-day pickup, must be placed by an hour before closing
Our Daily Bread Deli, 116 Hudson Ave.	Yes			518-392-2233	http://www.ourdailybreadchatham.com/news-updates https://www.facebook.com/OurDailyBreadChatham/ Mon, Tues (order by 11:30), Wed- Fri (order by 2 PM) Sat-Sun (Brunch) 10 AM- 2PM
CLAVERACK
Market	Pick-up	Delivery		Phone Number	Website/Facebook  (Check here for open hours, menus, and updates)
Common Hands Farm, 257 Stevers Crossing Rd.	Yes			(518) 303-6082	https://commonhandscsa.com Order online for pickup on Thursday - Friday
Farm at Miller's Crossing, 170 Route 217, Hudson,	yes			518-851-2331	https://farmatmillerscrossing.com/the-barn/ https://www.facebook.com/FarmAtMillersCrossing/ Open Tues-Sun 10 AM- 6 PM
COPAKE
Market	Pick-up	Delivery		Phone Number	Website/Facebook  (Check here for open hours, menus, and updates)
Copake General Store, 171 Columbia County Rd 7A	Yes			518-329-3663	http://copakegeneralstore.com https://www.instagram.com/copakegeneral/  Tues-Sat 9 AM -3 PM  Check for updated website.
Pigasso Farms, 480 Farm Rd	Yes			518-929-3252	http://www.pigassofarms.com https://www.facebook.com/Pigasso-Farms-171414166231530/ Fri-Sun 10:30 AM to 5 PM  Place order at the window
Random Harvest, 1785 NY-23, Craryville	Yes.	Yes thru doorstep deliverers and county concierge		518- 325-9895	https://www.randomharvestmarket.com online ordering Tues, Thur, Fri 11 AM-5 PM
ELIZAVILLE
Market	Pick-up	Delivery		Phone Number	Website/Facebook  (Check here for open hours, menus, and updates)
Elizaville Deli, 573 East Kerley Corners Rd, Elizaville	Yes	Yes (within 5 miles)		845-756-3557	https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Deli/Elizaville-Deli-114566495240253/ 7 AM – 10 PM
GALLATIN
Market	Pick-up	Delivery		Phone Number	Website/Facebook  (Check here for open hours, menus, and updates)
Fat Apple Farm, 231 Sigler Rd, Gallatin				646-283-8200	https://www.facebook.com/FatAppleFarmNY/ https://fatapple.farm/localretail Place orders by emailing nichole@fatapple.farm or call 646-283-8200
Miracle Springs Farm, 709 County Route 11, Gallatin	Yes	Yes		518-851-2500	https://www.miraclespringsfarm.com/ Order by calling or email Chris@miraclespringsfarm.com  Mon-Fri 8AM-5 PM, Sat 11:AM-noon
Sky Acres Farm 481 County Route 7, Gallatin	Yes			518-398-6015		skyacresangus.com https://www.facebook.com/SAFarmMarket/ Call or text 845-625-4068 to place an order for pick up at any time. Store open Mon 9-10 AM, Wed and Fri 10 – noon, Sat 10 AM-2 PM.
GERMAN-TOWN
Market	Pick-up	Delivery		Phone Number	Website/Facebook  (Check here for open hours, menus, and updates)
Otto’s 215 Main Street	Yes			518-537-7200 x2		https://www.ottosmarket.com/ Online form for products and instructions. Order before 2 PM for same day pick-up.  Mon-Sat 8 AM- 4PM
GHENT
Market	Pick-up	Delivery		Phone Number	Website/Facebook  (Check here for open hours, menus, and updates)
Love Apple Farm, 1421 State Route 9H	Yes			518-828-5048		https://loveapplefarm.com https://www.facebook.com/LoveAppleFarmNY Essential shoppers only for in-store purchases (no children or groups). For pick-up email orders@loveapplefarm.com for store list and instructions. No same day orders after 4 PM Open 9 AM-5 PM
Hawthorne Valley Farm Store  327 County Route 21c, Ghent,	Yes		Yes (within 12 miles)			https://store.hawthornevalley.org/about/curbside-pick-up-and-local-delivery/ Email delivery@hawthornevalley.org or call 518-672-7500 x 277. You will receive order form and instructions. For same day curbside, order by 12 PM. For delivery order by 2 PM previous day (note: no deliveries on the weekend).
HILLSDALE
Market	Pick-up	Delivery		Phone Number	Website/Facebook  (Check here for open hours, menus, and updates)
IGA Hillsdale Supermarket, 2628 NY-23	No			518-325-4341		https://www.facebook.com/grocery217/?ref=py_c Open 7 AM-6 PM (First hour for seniors)
KINDERHOOK
Market	Pick-up	Delivery		Phone Number		Website/Facebook  (Check here for open hours, menus, and updates)
Samascott’s Garden Market, 65 Chatham St	Yes		Yes (within 5 miles, $5.00)	518-758-9292		https://www.facebook.com/samascottsgardenmarket https://samascott.square.site/ Online ordering.  Check website for delivery and pick-up instructions. Open 9 AM-6 PM
TAGHKANIC
West Taghkanic Diner,1016 Route 82, West Taghkanic	Yes		Yes (local only)	518-851-3333		https://www.wtdinerny.com/shop Mon, Wed, Fri