CANTON – GardenShare will honor The Big Spoon Kitchen, owned and operated by Rose Rivezzi and Will Trithart, as the recipient of their 2024 Growing Community Award. 

This award recognizes an individual or organization whose efforts strengthen our local food system, and/or increase food security in St. Lawrence County. Past recipients of this award have included local farmers, food banks, and community groups. 

Big Spoon Kitchen makes it their mission to connect their customers to the bounty of wonderful local food available throughout the North Country. Since beginning operation in 2017 they have sourced local meats, eggs, fruits, vegetables, honey, cheeses, and maple syrup while providing a variety of entrees, including vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free meals. Their staff is passionate about local food and that passion is clear to their customers.

Since 2018 Big Spoon Kitchen has collaborated with BOCES and Cornell Cooperative Extension on a grant they received to help increase the amount of local foods in school lunches. Last year alone Big Spoon Kitchen helped get over 67,000 pounds of minimally produced fruit and vegetables into school lunches across the region. This includes salsa mix while tomatoes are in season, diced onions, diced peppers, diced butternut squash, carrot medallions, slaw mix, sliced apples. This year they also added frozen corn and green beans to their program. This enormous undertaking is made possible through the network of farmers who supply Big Spoon Kitchen, and the Harvest Kitchen at the Cornell Cooperative Extension Learning Farm where Big Spoon Kitchen staff process the bounty weekly. The processed food is picked up every Monday by St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES and distributed to 21 area schools.

“It's an honor to be recognized for what we've made it our mission to do. We believe in building community with our neighbors.....the local farmers and producers, the local schools, and our customers who come back week after week to be Spoon Fed by a group of dedicated staff ready to feed them.” said Rose Rivezzi of Big Spoon Kitchen. 

“It is pure joy to know that Rose, Will and their entire team is dedicated to our local food system in so many ways. Their innovative approach to crafting delicious local food, and their commitment to sharing and amplifying local food throughout the community is inspirational,” said GardenShare Executive Director Carlene Doane.

GardenShare has been active in St. Lawrence County since 1996, tirelessly working to fight hunger in our community and strengthen our local food system. Their slogan, “Healthy Food, Healthy Farms, Everybody Eats” demonstrates their commitment to supporting a strong, interconnected food system that supports every member of our community. The organization’s work to help low-income families access locally grown food helps vulnerable members of our community access healthy, local food every year.