An Austin nonprofit is poised to celebrate the serving of its 10,000th plate of free food. If all goes to plan on February 25, someone’s meal will also be a landmark occasion.
Launched April 2020, in the pandemic’s shutdown era, Red Beans and Ricely Yours has one mission: to feed people in Austin. The founders are Maris Clegg and Chris Cubas, who cook everything themselves in their own kitchen. The goal is to bring comfort and joy into Austinites’ homes, via a safely delivered, hefty plate of red beans and rice.
Via email, Cubas said, “When we got started, we picked red beans and rice not only because of Maris’ ties to New Orleans and the comfort and nourishment that dish has brought to people for so long but also because of its simplicity and humbleness. Beans and rice have always been able to feed a lot for a little – something that has helped us continue our service as prices have continued to rise.”
Exactly how much prices have risen is hard to measure, even for the couple. “We can’t speak to the exact percentage spike, but we have definitely felt it. I think we have seen it the most in our storage rent, the price for containers, and dried spices.”
Asking if Red Beans and Ricely Yours has ingredients delivered to their kitchen got an unexpected response from Maris.
“‘Do pallets come to us?’ really made us laugh! Our entire operations/inventory are in the office/guest bedroom of our 2 bedroom/1 bathroom 1940s 800 square foot rental house, which Chris shares as he works from home. We buy bulk reusable containers, garlic, and spices from Restaurant Depot, using a guest pass every time. The rice comes from Costco, and I make a weekly trip to H-E-B for produce and Hudson Meat Market for sausage before work.”
Could they possibly quantify the quantity of red beans, celery, onion, garlic, peppers, and sausage they’ve used over the years to make 10,000 plates? They came through with some educated guesses.
“We go through 10 pounds of Camelia beans per service. We’ve tried other brands, but the consistency and quality of the bean is really unmatched. So, we have gone through 2,000 pounds of red kidney beans since April 2020. The same with sausage, we have cooked 2,000 pounds. Over the last few years we’ve built a great relationship with Hudson Meats on South Congress and use their smoked andouilles, exclusively. And since the very beginning, Rambler has generously provided cans of sparkling water for every meal.”
Here’s the rest of the following ingredients in quantity that have been made into 10,000 meals since 2020: 300 pounds of onions, 200 of celery, 300 of peppers, and 64 of garlic.
As for hot sauce, it’s hard for them to say how much has been used in their food. “But, we’ve used Crystal exclusively along the way. We even provide 3 oz bottles of Crystal to all of our first time volunteer drivers!”
Naturally it takes heart, hard work, and logistics to keep an operation like Red Beans going for almost four years. And lots of volunteers. Maris said, “440 drivers and 150 bakers have signed up since we got started. We tend to use four or five drivers per Sunday service, and we ask that one baker provide 50 pieces of cornbread, rolls, biscuits and another baker does 50 sweet treats of their choosing – though we discourage anything with nuts.” Support comes from the community in forms of donations, too.
Need a meal? Sign up here.
This article appears in February 9 • 2024.