Courtesy Darryl Vennard
100 meals, ready for pick up from Salt + Smoke
Darryl Vennard has been involved in charity work for as long as he can remember, collecting money for organizations, hosting events and attending fundraisers – as he describes it, the usual things people do to make themselves feel like they are doing something to address society’s ills. However, it wasn’t until he got involved with Tent Mission STL, that Vennard says he understood the importance of engaging with people in need and the mutual recognition that comes with those interactions.
“We know these people—they have names,” Vennard says. “There is a humanizing factor. When you meet people who are living in our parks and substandard housing, you understand they are funny, smart, clever, intuitive.”
For the past year, Vennard has not only been engaging with unhoused members of the St. Louis community, but he’s also been the catalyst for a grassroots campaign to feed those in need, with the help of several local restaurants. As he explains, the idea came to him when he was thinking of what skills he had that could help Tent Mission in its efforts to support the unhoused beyond the usual fundraising activities.
Courtesy Darryl Vennard
A pulled pork sandwich with all the accoutrements, from Salt + Smoke
A veteran wine and spirits professional and Midwest regional sales manager for importer Vine Connections, Vennard knew that he could rely on his relationships with area restaurants to provide meals for those who might not otherwise have something to eat. He admits that it felt like a big ask at first. Though he’s been continually impressed by the generosity of St. Louis restaurants over his 30 years in town, he also understood that this particular moment saw an industry facing challenges that it had never seen before. Even in the midst of the pandemic, however, restaurants came through.
“The restaurant community in St. Louis is super close and caring, and they get asked to help everybody,” Vennard says. “Whether it’s something for your high school reunion or a donation for a silent auction for your church, they get requests all day long for charity, and I watch them do it over and over again. Last year was a terrible years for restaurants, and all it took was a conversation with one about how bad it is out there. They asked what they could do to help.”
Courtesy Darryl Vennard
One week, Vennard delivered roasted chicken and Mediterranean spiced beans from Olio
That initial offer to help has blossomed into a robust effort involving roughly 20 of the area’s top restaurants, as well as one establishment in Kansas City. From Ben Poremba’s Olio to Gerard Craft’s Pastaria chefs, restaurateurs and their staff have signed up to provide meals to Vennard’s outreach every Wednesday and Sunday. Likening himself to a meal-delivery service, Vennard goes to whichever restaurants are donating on particular days, picks up the food donation and distributes it to those in need in South City, near Carondelet Park. What’s impressed him most is not only restaurants owners' willingness to help, but also how much work they put into the meals that they prepare.
“Your community includes people who don’t have a place to live, and this is showing that these restaurants care about those people,” Vennard says. “When you see the food that these restaurants donate, it’s just amazing. You can see that the staff does it with love. Everything is labeled and looks and tastes high-end. When you’re handing it out to people who are struggling to stay alive and you give them restaurant-quality food that's valuable and nutritious, that’s pretty wonderful.”
Courtesy Darryl Vennard
Casarecce pasta with blistered tomatoes from Il Bel Lago
For now, Vennard’s list of donors includes Acero, Cellar Rat Wine Merchants (Kansas City), The Crossing, Felix’s Pizza Pub, Five Star Burgers, Gramophone, Il Bel Lago, Kingside Diner, Liliana’s Kitchen, LoRusso’s Cucina, Mai Lee, Nudo House, O’Connell’s Pub, Olio, Pastaria, Robust Wine Bar, Salt + Smoke, Sasha’s, Steve’s Hot Dogs, and Sugarfire Smoke House. By raising awareness, he hopes to get more restaurants on board, but ultimately aims to bring about change at a more fundamental level.
“These restaurants are doing what they can, but the most important thing is to raise awareness that this problem is not going away, and it shouldn’t be left to city restaurateurs to address the issue,” Vennard says. “By showing that the people who have had the toughest year in business are still thinking about their community shows that others should think about it too, whether that’s citizens or government.”
Still, Vennard can't help but feel anything but heartened when he reflects on just how much the city’s restaurants have done and continue to do so support the community—even those who will likely never be able to dine within the four walls of their establishments.
“There are big hearts everywhere in this town, and I am moved by it,” Vennard says. “It’s motivating me to make St. Louis better, and I am motivating them. There is synergy in that.”
