A first-time Hudson Valley award for dedication to locally-sourced food and products has been given to the leader of a non-profit organization in Kingston. WAMC’s Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Allison Dunne has more on the Re>Think Local award.
The inaugural Hudson Valley Beautiful Business Award for Social Entrepreneurship honors Diane Reeder, president and CEO of The Queens Galley Food Insecurity Resource Center. She says the Kingston-based non-profit soup kitchen and food pantry needs to be a community partner.
She notes The Queens Galley also offers a food-service and hospitality training program, and teaches families about healthy cooking, nutrition, and how to best budget for food shopping.
She says it can be an uphill battle to buy only local as a donation-only group that serves food to about 350 people per day. Yet even when ordering from the shelf, something like canned tomatoes, she says it is important to consider the company behind those canned tomatoes.
The award was created in honor of think local pioneer Judy Wicks, who has her own local businesses in Pennsylvania. Reeder says she was thrilled to receive the award not only in Wicks’ honor, but in her presence.
Reeder, with her husband, owns the Kingston Candy Bar, a for-profit business that opened its doors a few weeks ago. She says it’s a mix of retro candy, which is not local, and locally-produced candy of today, along with other treats and sweets.
Ajax Greene is co-founder and executive director of Re>Think Local, a nonprofit collaborative of locally-owned independent businesses, artists, farmers, and nonprofits working to co-create a sustainable Hudson Valley. Re>Think Local created the award. Greene says Reeder is an example of applying local values to business, and she stood out for the following reason.
The Hudson Valley Beautiful Business Award for Social Entrepreneurship was given to Diane Reeder during an event in Milton.