Oral History Minute: Renee Boughman, F.A.R.M. Cafe
In 2018 we interviewed Renee Boughman, executive chef of F.A.R.M. Cafe. She told us about the importance of sitting down and eating a meal together.
It’s that normalizing factor, that they get to come in, sit down, have a meal, with everybody else, and they’re not stigmatized, they don’t have to tell you anything if they don’t want to, you don’t know, it’s up to them, and that’s my favorite part of this job for me. I’m sitting with people that I’m - maybe I’m not proud to say this, but - I would have been afraid to meet outside of my comfort zone, but cooking is my comfort zone. But now that I’ve got that base, it seemed natural that I could meet people in that arena, we could share from that space, and then it took me exactly where I intellectually believed it would, but had not truly lived a life in which it would, which is we’re all the same. We’re all the same, you know, we just don’t realize it until we reach out and start talking to each other. But we are, we’re all the same. It’s just that some people, or the challenges they face - I say that with the understanding that I find them to be remarkably strong people that I don’t know I would have the strength that they do. So many people that get up in the morning and put all the layers on that they need to in terms of how they’re going to face all the challenges they’ve got ahead of them that day, and I’m not sure I’m as strong as they are, so they teach me a lot. And it’s a great, great place to work. People will say things to me like, 'Oh man Renee! that just seems so hard, every day you’re training somebody, every day you’re teaching somebody new?' And that can get to be a struggle, but please don’t let people know that this is one of the best jobs in the world, because I don’t want you to take it from me! It truly is though, it’s a gift, and I believe that, it’s a gift, and I’m just thrilled to do it on a daily basis. -Renee Boughman
F.A.R.M. Cafe strives to be an all inclusive cafe, serving people from all walks of life with dignity. With a 90% volunteer staff, anyone can work an hour in the cafe in exchange for a meal. In addition to volunteers, they have "pay-it-forward" patrons who pay more than the suggested donation for their meal, which helps cover the cost of those who cannot pay at all.
F.A.R.M. Cafe is currently closed to the public but is still providing food to the community through local food banks and the High Country Food Hub. You can purchase prepared meals from F.A.R.M. Cafe at highcountryfoodhub.org