Columbia County Recovery Kitchen: Food kitchen cooks up April fundraiser

COLUMBIA COUNTY — It isn’t often that one person’s decision to retire can make a difference in the lives of hundreds, but that has been the case with Carole Clark. Clark sold her Hudson restaurant, Charleston, in 2006 and thus became available to address local food insecurity at just the right time by founding the Columbia County Recovery Kitchen (CCRK).

Now, as the group celebrates its second anniversary on Thursday, April 14, with a month-long fundraising effort, CCRK has become an essential staple for those in need.

Clark, the co-founder and director, said the organization officially kicked off in April 2020 because, “When the pandemic hit, I was aware of the impact it would have — especially on Hudson.”

Although retired, Clark said she knew she “had the skills, so I decided to get out there.”

So she formed the nonprofit organization to prepare and deliver food to those in need. She admits that at that point she had “no kitchen — no staff,” but she did have the necessary heart, grit and contacts from her nearly two decades in the restaurant business.  That included the Columbia County Department of Health, which gave her rapid approval of the project.

Pandemic restrictions meant she had to organize everything by phone, which she said actually made things move pretty quickly.

With the help of Co-Founders Pam Kline and the late Carol Peckham, within two months, the newly certified organization was serving 200 meals within its first week — now up to approximately 900 meals a week.

The group included the word “Recovery” in its name as an optimistic nod to what Clark hoped would soon happen. And while the COVID crisis has since lessened, she noted that the need has not.

Clark said that even families with double-wage earners, particularly those with children, still might not bring home enough income to put nutritious meals on the table. To help counter that, CCRK meals include protein, vegetables and a carbohydrate, with much of the food being locally sourced.

An ideal spokesperson for the issue, Clark points out that “invisible” food insecurity is rampant, especially in rural areas. More than 11% of Columbia County’s population is impacted by hunger despite the best efforts of various governmental and other organizations with whom the kitchen cooperates.

Most of those receiving meals have been referred by those groups, but Clark said because many in need are often “really isolated,” individuals may also register friends, family, neighbors or themselves by calling Kline at 518-965-8051.

Lauding the generous support CCRK has received from the community, she noted the program functions  with only two paid cooks who prepare meals at The Christ Church Episcopal on Union Street in Hudson. The heart of the operation, said Clark, is the 90 volunteers who give of their time and talents.

The work begins four to five days a week with meal preparation from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. At 1 p.m., others package the food and load it for drivers, who arrive around 2 p.m. with their own vehicles, paying for their own gas, to distribute the meals directly to homes in Hudson and 26 towns and villages throughout Columbia County.

Clark said she feels the service is especially important for seniors and for the many residents who do not have cars or other transportation and who cannot otherwise access food pantries.

Numerous farms and other businesses supply products and find other ways to support the effort. Clark added that recently, when the group received a generous donation of 300 pounds of organic beef but lacked the facilities to store it all, a local farm stepped up to provide the necessary freezer space.

The CCRK organizer said donors from the Harlem Valley region include: Sky High Farm of Pine Plains; Wally Farms of Ancram; Fat Apple Farm of Pine Plains; Dirty Dog Farm of Germantown; Pigasso Farm of Copake; Common Hands of Hillsdale; and Migliorelli Farm of Tivoli, among many others.

To donate to the 501(c)3, nonprofit, go to www.columbiacountyrecoverykitchen.org or send a check to CCRK, Box 183, Spencertown, NY 12165.

Chef Jaime Parry is just one of two paid chefs who regularly cooks to help serve hungry residents throughout Columbia County through the Columbia County Recovery Kitchen. Photo submitted