The Rural We: Carole Clark
The Livingston resident took her experience of feeding people in restaurants and spearheaded Columbia County Recovery Kitchen.
“I’ve been in the business of feeding people a long time,” says Livingston resident Carole Clark. In the 80s, she owned a seasonal restaurant, Konkapot, in Mill River (in the Berkshires), and then opened a “white tablecloth” restaurant, Charleston, in Hudson in 1987. After she sold Charleston in 2006, Clark started working at the local Boys and Girls Club, teaching a class involving gardening, cooking and eating. She learned of the many families in Columbia County who were borderline food insecure, which eventually led to the Columbia County Recovery Kitchen, which she spearheaded last year in response to the pandemic.
When the pandemic struck, I just kept thinking about these people and their need for food. I had no restaurant, no chef, and I was too old to cook myself, but I found two chefs in Hudson whose restaurants had closed. Chef Jamie Parry from Swoon and John Carr, the chef from Le Perche, were going to head up the cooking.
I went to the Department of Health for certification, and went in search of a site. Christ Church Episcopal on Union Street had a lovely kitchen they offered to us. We set up a Go Fund Me campaign, and met that goal. We found a fiscal sponsor — First Presbyterian Church. Columbia County Democrats paid for our insurance. So I had everything I needed to start.
I contacted many farms that I already knew, and our chefs had connections with food purveyors and farms. We started April 13. One of the reasons it happened so fast was that because of COVID we had to do everything by telephone; we didn’t have to set up appointments and meet with people. Everybody responded positively. It just felt charmed.
A good friend who supported the idea, Pam Kline, joined me and took on the task of finding recipients. Our initial recipients were referred by the Sanctuary Movement of Columbia County, the Department of Social Services, and children from public schools throughout the county. That first week we provided 200 meals. We’re averaging 950 a week now. Most people get one meal a week, but some get two or three, depending on need.
We’re different from most food programs in that we’re not a pantry. The chefs brought a crew with them who had worked in their restaurants. We have three teams: a kitchen team, a distribution team, and 89 volunteer drivers who go out into the county and delivery directly to the families.
This is totally volunteer driven. Volunteers are doing our website, publicity, graphics, social media, distribution. We have four people involved with scheduling and delivery. The generosity of the community has been extraordinary. The whole thing couldn’t exist if we didn’t have all these volunteers.
At the beginning of this year, we opened the process for self referral, so people who know other people in need of help could refer them. Our recipients come from 32 towns in Columbia County and the city of Hudson.
There was food insecurity to a significant degree before COVID, and we will continue to provide meals long after the pandemic is over. We hear from the drivers that they’re amazed at the amount of poverty in this county, despite the tremendous real estate boom.
This week we’re celebrating our one-year anniversary. Since we can’t all get together for a birthday cake, Jamie is making cupcakes for all the volunteers. There’ll be lots of cupcakes going out.
