Richmond, Washington. (AFP) - Before the pandemic, the underground kitchen was known for its incredible sale of $150 worth of dinner plates from top chefs in secret locations.
But when the pandemic closed bars and restaurants, so did the UGK.
"We didn't know what to do for weeks," said founder Michael Sparks. "We had refrigerators full of groceries and people who couldn't work. We decided to make food for everyone in Richmond." "Regardless of your social or economic background, you can grab a free lunch. We wanted to spread some love around town."
In the first week, UGK distributed 175 meals to the public. They began working with city authorities to deliver food to poor, food-insecure areas of the city, particularly the eastern tip.
Today, UGK has provided more than 225,000 meals to those in need and launched its nonprofit arm, Underground Kitchen's first community feeding program.
"It's a high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease community," Sparks said. "We wanted to provide healthy, chef-prepared, organic, free, delicious food and make people feel better."
According to the USDA, more than 34 million people, including 9 million children, will be affected by malnutrition by 2021. Families living in low-income urban areas often live in “food deserts” with limited access to food, making them hard-to-reach people to get healthy food. Now, with inflation, food prices rose 13.5% year-on-year in August, the largest annual rise in more than 40 years, according to government data, further exacerbating the plight of low-income families without access to healthy food.
Food insecurity can lead to health risks. The etiologies are: type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, heart disease and obesity. Black communities suffer from higher rates of hunger, poverty and unemployment than white communities, according to local hunger relief organization Feeding America. In 2021, about 20% of people of color lived in a household with food insecurity. Blacks are nearly three times more likely to starve than whites.
"No one is making organic, fresh, processed foods for this community, so we've taken the lead," Sparks said.
One morning, UGK's Community First Food program poured out more than 100 fresh soups at Faith Convention Christian Fellowship, a chapel near Mosby Court in Richmond's East End.
"This is my favorite," Serena Bateman said, referring to the green soup. It consists of fresh vegetables, chard and spinach with strawberries, rice and grilled pork.
Bateman lives in the neighborhood and takes his grandson to church all week to deliver food. Reverend Mary Gleeson works hard to get food from Food Lion and BJ's to feed the community. But the fresh food prepared by the UGK chef is a neighborhood favorite.
"I'd rather eat green vegetables than meat," Pittman said. "And my grandson eats."
In addition to the green favorites, Jermaine Carson has prepared a cabbage soup with fresh cabbage and tomatoes, and beef stew with seasonal vegetables and herbs.
Carson is the Kitchen Manager for UGK's Community First Food Program. After years in restaurants and hospitality in Richmond, she said cooking for the UGK Lunch Program is an "opportunity to do something positive." It's nice to see that people love the food I cook. No fast food. It encourages people to lead healthy lives.”
Its place is the healthiest food for the soul.
Some people think that the whole flavor of southern cooking comes from fat and butter. But I'd love to show you how you can incorporate healthy flavors and not have people run out of oil or fat," Carson said.
UGK works with Richmond-based Shalom Farms to provide fresh vegetables. Since 2020, the farm has donated nearly 10,000 pounds of fresh vegetables to UGK including peppers, cucumbers, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, garlic, squash and squash.
"We believe everyone deserves access to fresh, wholesome food, wherever they are," said Anna Ibrahim, the farm's executive director. “We have a mission that is closely related to UGK because we see the scale of the problem in the communities we serve. Fresh food should not be left to anyone.”
"Michael calls it 'eating with dignity,'" said Kate Hawk, Sparks business partner at UGK, "it goes from our hearts to them. We want you to feel that you are in good hands. It is very important."
"We have always promoted black, women, minority and LGBTQ leaders in the industry," said Sparks. "What we do is new to the industry. We encourage diversity through food and drink, which is really something."
Chef Hamidullah Noori, owner of modern Afghan restaurant Mantou in Carretown, credits UGK with launching his career.
After working as a chef at the five-star Serena Hotel in Kabul, Nouri fled Afghanistan with her family in 2015 when conditions became too dangerous to survive.
He met Sparks and Hook, who hired him as executive chef for numerous culinary events in Virginia and abroad.
"It was my first time in Mantua to cook in a modern Afghan-style kitchen," Nouri said. "We have traveled and cooked from North Carolina to DC"
Nori soon befriended Sparks and Hook, who helped free Manto.
“Everything you see in the restaurant is designed by UGK, from the table to the menu, the food, the wine and the cocktails. When I opened the restaurant, Michele went to Alexandria with me to pick up the cutlery," Nouri said. "I owe him a lot. I call him my dark brother.”
When the kitchen was closed during COVID-19, Nouri helped prepare soup for UGK's Community First Food Program on Oliver Hill Way.
UGK has also helped young chefs like Will Leung-Richardson, founder of Asian-American food truck Kudzu RVA, and Natascha "TAZ" Bowles, a Richmond-based chef.
"We wanted to create a safe place for chefs to cook, where chefs could learn restaurant, legal and financial skills so they could take it to the next level," Sparks said.
Nouri said: "For Michael and Kate, it's not about the money. It's about introducing chefs unknown to the world.”
Calvet Clanton didn't know what to do when the pandemic ended and residents were forced to stay at home in Armstrong Renaissance, a new mixed-income community replacing Creighton Court in the East End.
“We are a new non-profit organization for Richmond. 30% of our residents were from Creighton Court.
"One of the biggest challenges this community faces is the food desert," Clanton said. "We're struggling to get fresh fruits and vegetables."
As the pandemic kept everyone at home, Clanton struggled to find resources to keep residents, particularly the elderly, safe and stable in their homes. As the coordinator of Community Life Services, he contacts the UGK, which begins distributing soup to the elderly.
"Michelle and Kate have a clear passion for educating the community," she said.
Armstrong is now working with UGK to develop a healthy meal program for families and seniors.
"You can't go to a food bank with the elderly and buy groceries that meet your dietary needs. If you have high blood pressure, you don't want to eat foods high in sodium. And UGK will make a bowl of them try it,” Calvet said. Track the impact of these foods on the health of our elderly over time.”
They also plan to start an after-school program where UGK will serve a hot meal once a week to young people participating in the after-school program. The UGK is also planning a hygiene set for families that they can prepare at home. A healthy eating program should begin in the next few weeks.
"There's no reason this community can't have the same quality of food that the people who come to our dinner parties eat," Hook said.
For foodies partaking in the $150 upscale UGK dinner, they'll go up. In August, UGK hosted a barbecue with the Bowles, and in October, chef Jason Bullard sold another.
UGK has also started a wine tasting program to showcase women in the wine industry, female red wine producers and other unrepresented players in the industry. UGK hosted a private dinner like Fort Monroe in Hampton to raise funds for the D-Day African Memorial Project and explore the history of the area. In Manchester, UGK has opened a community shop at 205 Hull Street, selling a select range of wines, groceries and merchandise. A portion of all sales goes first to support the UGK community.
As much as UGK has lost during COVID -- hundreds of thousands of dollars in planned dinners and lost revenue -- Sparks said, "I think we've gained more of what we did during COVID. I think we're going to get stronger and stronger in the return underground."
"Kate and I have always wanted to do something like this, but we were never able to slow down enough to do it," Sparks said. "We had to get up very quickly. Our experience with experimental popups puts us in a good position to bring everyone together and move things forward really quickly. COVID has made us better, more conscious people. We wake up differently every morning. We know we do." feeding hundreds of people and teaching them to eat better and extend their lives.”