Seasoned offers Soul Food at NAACP fundraiser

GLENS FALLS, New York (Oct. 21, 2024) — SUNY Adirondack is proud to partner with the Glens Falls branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to offer Soul Food, a celebration of culture and cuisine Saturday, Oct. 26, at Seasoned, 14 Hudson Ave.

“We want authentic Southern soul food,” said Lee Braggs, first vice president of the Glens Falls chapter of the NAACP. “We work with Chef Matt and the students on the menu and prep so it’s authentic; we don’t want northern ‘soul food’.”

From noon to 6 p.m., SUNY Adirondack’s Culinary Arts students will serve dinners of traditional soul food — menu items that celebrate the deep roots of African American culture in the Southern United States — including fried chicken, collard greens, potato salad, black-eyed peas, sweet potato pie and cornbread, with additional sides of pig’s feet and macaroni and cheese.

The public is invited to visit Seasoned, SUNY Adirondack’s fully functioning fine-dining restaurant to pick up, takeout or eat in. Meals are $22 for adults; $18 for students; and $15 for children. A pig’s foot is $7 and a macaroni and cheese dish is $5. 

SUNY Adirondack Culinary instructor Chef Matthew Bolton will provide assistance to participating students.

The Soul Food event is the Glens Falls branch of NAACP’s biggest fundraiser of the year, supporting its scholarship funding. 

The Glens Falls NAACP was founded in 1966 — less than a year after the Voting Rights Act was passed. In the years since, the local arm of the national institution has organized voter registration drives, supported various volunteer organizations, and led conversations about inequities in employment and housing.

The Glens Falls NAACP founded several community programs, including a scholarship fund; bringing speakers to schools and groups to talk about African American culture; an annual Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration; and an annual film festival at Crandall Public Library.