In the aftermath of the Island’s weathering a historic blizzard –– that first trapped us in our homes, and then dragged us from them in the labor of digging out –– what better way is there to celebrate or seek solace in community than to break bread together?
Every Sunday evening through the end of March, something remarkable is happening in the woods of West Tisbury, regardless of snowdrifts: Stillpoint’s community suppers. Attendees of all ages enter the gently lit barn to find two long tables adorned with tablecloths, candles, and scores of table settings. People nibble on hors d’oeuvres as they chat leisurely with fellow diners. The bountiful, locally sourced dinner accommodates alpha-gal syndrome and other food sensitivities, offering vegan, vegetarian, and meat-based entrées; diners eat with live background music; after the meal, as servers clear the plates and deliver desserts to the table, the lighting shifts to highlight the musicians, who perform with guest artists joining in.
The whole evening is free of charge. (Donations are welcome.) Even more impressive, the whole evening is upcycled.
“We use a lot of upcycled food at the Charter School, where I’m running the kitchen,” explains Betsy Carnie, the cook, “so we’ve tapped into networks of food rescue. People bring things to the school and ask: ‘Do you want this?’ We get produce from the farms that is in excess — more than they’ll sell before it rots.”
Another common source of food is the “mispick,” meaning “mistaken and picked up.” Carnie explains, “Things come to Cronig’s as mispicks — for example, they have no place on the shelf, they have no way to itemize it, etc. — and they don’t want the expense of returning it, so they offer it to us.”
The team works with Cronig’s because it’s right across the road from the Charter School; Carnie takes students with her to collect the food, which gives the students an up-close understanding of the supply chain. The food is prepared at the Charter School, because Stillpoint doesn’t have a kitchen: “Using a kitchen that does exist is using what we already have to make something more for more people.
“About a third of the food in this country is wasted, for various reasons, according to the FDA [Food and Drug Administration],” Carnie continues. “At the Charter School, we have morning meetings, and we discuss this. First and foremost, consider the environmental-justice element: avoiding waste when we can think of joyful and creative and exciting and delicious ways to reincarnate foods.”
Each week, just before dinner is served, Carnie tells the assembled diners the origin story of that evening’s food. Since she doesn’t know ahead of time what she’ll have to work with, the menu is serendipitous, but she enjoys the creative challenge. The mismatched plates, silverware, napkins, and candlestick holders are sourced from the Dumptique, adding to the whimsical vibe of the event. And the catch-as-catch-can seating encourages strangers to get to know one another.
These community suppers are the shared brainchild of Willy Mason and Ben Robinson, two Islanders who independently had a vision of providing free food in a setting designed to foster community; for Mason, music was an intrinsic part of the vision. Each of them reached out to Thomas Bena at Stillpoint, who connected them. The rest is history. Very recent history, in fact: They began planning this past December, and held their first supper in early February. “We just decided to jump right in and let it develop on its own,” says Mason.
“It’s a thrown-together thing,” agrees Robinson, Carnie’s partner. “But we’ve been throwing together dinners for years, so it’s a skill set.”
“It’s the practice of embracing imperfection,” says Carnie. “We invite people to see us in our state of figuring it out, to witness imperfection, and embrace it, and enjoy it.”
Robinson was initially intrigued by the work of an esteemed Italian chef, Massimo Bottura, who endorsed refettorio: the concept of simple, elegant, free meals using upcycled food, served in community. “These have popped up around major cities,” Robinson says. “We’re doing our version of it. We wouldn’t be able to do it without the Stillpoint staff, who have the space, and handle a level of logistics, like the ticketing. And you need a certain number of volunteers. It’s a mix. Maybe half our volunteers are Charter School students, but we also had a man in his 70s, which is kind of the idea: getting different people to mix.” The diners who stay until the end of the evening are likely to spontaneously help with breaking down the room.
The music is provided by Mason, a beloved and well-established local singer and songwriter, and whichever friends of his are available. “There’s not really a plan,” says Robinson. “The music is as upcycled as the food. As much as the food is going to be a mystery, the music is too. The whole dinner is so West Tisbury, in a way that makes me love West Tisbury.”
Mason notes, “We’re still brainstorming wildly about what else we can bring into it, to keep feeding it. It feels like a huge opportunity to have people together under one roof with a sense of comfort and optimism and mutual care, and I’m excited to see where it leads, and what it might inspire elsewhere. We’re playing into a tradition that’s been going on a long time, and trying to experiment with open minds about how it can be most aptly applied to the present moment. We welcome comments and suggestions and collaborators.”
Deb Klein, program coordinator at Stillpoint, says, “Stillpoint’s mission is an educational one, so we love that Betsy tells diners about the food, how she sourced it, what she does with it, and how upcycling can really benefit the community. It’s a great learning experience, as well as an amazing community vibe.”
The team would like to see the project expand in the direction of accessibility, especially for families with food insecurity and older people dealing with isolation. “How do you get people who don’t have a vehicle is a hurdle. There’s no bus service,” says Robinson, “so there are people who don’t have access. We’ve talked about ride shares we can adopt as we get more into it.”
Carnie adds, “Or potentially getting the VTA [Vineyard Transit Authority] onboard, or getting a young person to volunteer to drive, or putting it out to the people we know are coming: Would you be willing to carpool, or pick people up along the way, to help bring the food to people who need it, and not just bringing a beautiful dinner to people who already have access to a beautiful dinner?
“We all need to come out into community in the dark months,” says Carnie. “Especially older people. There’s lots of kinds of needs that I think this is meeting.”
The suppers seat about 60, and advance registration is required. Because it’s free, you might be tempted to sign up and then not worry about being a no-show; please keep in mind that this prevents others from attending, so if you make a reservation, please show up to enjoy the bounty.