Kitchen Angels

Posted by Amaya Hoke in Santa Fe

Christine Hyland prepares vegetables for upcoming meal deliveries. Photo by Marco Rivera

The volunteer kitchen is filled with individuals of a wide range of ages: slicing, chopping and packaging soups, entrees and desserts. The stainless steel tables seep with the aroma of chicken and baked bread. Stacks of boxed meals pile up with beads of condensation clinging to their plastic lids. Thanks to the hard work of dedicated volunteers, Kitchen Angels, the uniquely Santa Fe meal assistance organization, has served more than one million meals to members of the Santa Fe community who are unable to feed themselves.

Whether it’s a disability or a medical situation, all qualifying clients can use Kitchen Angels’ services. “We provide hot meals for [people] who are homebound due to life circumstances,” Lauren LaVail says. LaVail is, broadly speaking, the community liaison for Kitchen Angels, but her work expands from PR marketing to volunteer recruitment. “We only have four full-time paid staff, so I fill in the gaps.”

In addition, 360 volunteers cook, deliver, coordinate and work in the kitchen resale store that opened in December, 2015. Each of these areas offer fulfilling and communal opportunities for any student at the Santa Fe University of Art and Design, whether it’s preparing multi-course meals from scratch or making connections with clients who have little other human interaction in their day.

The kitchen resale store at Kitchen Angels provides funding for meal deliveries. Photo by Marco Rivera

“You get to meet these people are really isolated,” LaVail says. “And you get that [realization], ‘if it wasn’t for me, this person wouldn’t eat today.’”

Volunteer shifts typically take one to two hours, demanding very little time to, LaVail believes, make a considerable difference in the lives of others. Even for those with no experience in a kitchen and no car to provide deliveries, there are positions available working the counter at the on-site kitchen resale store. The store is stocked by donations of everything from cutlery to fine dining sets, and the profits help fund the meals that are made every day. “It’s just two hours a week,” LaVail says. “It’s just so easy to help out, and it makes a huge difference.”

Lauren LaVail is the community liaison at Kitchen Angels. Photo by Marco Rivera

LaVail’s personal experience is a testimony to how the work at Kitchen Angels can change a life. “Twelve years ago…[my eldest son] was diagnosed with cancer.” After years of chemotherapy treatments, LaVail had taken to practically living in an Albuquerque hospital as her son neared the end of his life. “Then this organization came in and delivered meals to us. They didn’t know us and I didn’t know them and I never got to thank them, but every Wednesday, we’d get this home-cooked meal.” LaVail has a faraway look in her eyes, and her hands are wrung together while she speaks. “It gave me hope, during a time that was hopeless to me. There is nothing like having a hot meal put in front of you to make you feel loved.”

After her son passed away, LaVail returned to school and ultimately landed a position at the very organization that helped her pull through one of the toughest parts of her life. “I started during the holidays.” LaVail describes the holiday season as the busiest time for Kitchen Angels. “I was panicking, thinking I wasn’t working hard enough, then I got this call from a client and she went on and on about how we had changed her life. She was so sincere, and she said, ‘I don’t see anybody except for Kitchen Angels all day,’ and I had a full-circle moment. Back then I didn’t get to thank anybody. Now I get to thank every single one our 360 volunteers.”

For more information on how to get involved in volunteering and to help make Santa Fe a better place by volunteering at Kitchen Angels, you can contact LaVail at (505)471-7780 EXT 202 or visit its website for more information.