When the going gets tough, look for Cindie Feldman in the kitchen. “When there's something going on, I just feed people. It's just what I do,” she says. Feldman, owner of 29 Cooks, a catering and culinary center in Emmaus, as well as Gather Meeting & Events, found herself spending a lot of time in the kitchen as the coronavirus health crisis intensified. Her old business plan, though, was out the window. The new mission became feeding workers who were doing battle with COVID-19.
Initially, Feldman and her team were asked to prepare and deliver lunch for two ICUs at Lehigh Valley Health Network's Cedar Crest campus. Inspired by the gratitude from the workers and their families, she decided to go bigger, and launched a GoFundMe campaign that raised nearly $19,000 to keep the lunch train chugging along. Feldman says over the next six weeks or so they were able to provide food for 11 different departments at the hospital, including an elaborate Easter brunch that fed four different units. “We felt like we were really, truly a part of something,” says Feldman. “I felt like we had a responsibility—because we could give, we did.”
Feldman's team also looked for other ways to provide nourishment for the community amidst stay-at-home orders and social distancing guidelines. New endeavors have included bulk meal bundles as part of a supper club, picnic packs and even a virtual, delivery-only restaurant, Goin' South, offering Southern-inspired goodies like po' boys, ribs and shrimp and grits. “I've been pivoting so much I'm like a ballerina at this point,” says Feldman with a laugh.
