Roslyn, a retreat center of the Diocese of Virginia, closed May 1st due to the pandemic. It hopes to reopen in 2021. Rather than shuttering its commercial kitchen, Roslyn made it available to the Richmond-based Underground Kitchen. The up-scale meals UGK creates are sold to fund UGF Community Services which delivers soup and bread to under served communities in Richmond.
The story:
Roslyn — the 120-acre Episcopal retreat and conference center on River Road in Henrico County that has served as a spiritual oasis for nearly 90 years — has become a home for Richmond-based The Underground Kitchen, the host of lavish pop-up dining experiences featuring chef-led dinners and world-class wine and beverage pairings.
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While initially serving a few hundred people during its first weeks, Community First grew to serve nearly 3,000 meals a week and, since the end of March, has served nearly 60,000 people around the area. Roslyn, with its commercial kitchen and dining hall, served as the hub for the program, supported by hundreds of volunteers from local Episcopal churches….
Community First provides free homemade soups and breads to anyone in the metro Richmond area who needs it. The food is prepared by UGK’s vast network of chefs, with ingredients provided by their food purveyors.