Four Forks helps supply 3K meals during pandemic

It started with one family — the Sarvers.

The end result was nearly 3,000 meals being donated to emergency workers, hospital staff, police officers, nursing homes and shelters.

As Four Forks owner Megan Ruppenstein’s donation program came to a close in early June, she reflected on how one family’s idea became a months-long project.

“Our first dropoff at Stamford Hospital really demonstrated the gravity of the situation. The drive on Interstate 95 was on a basically deserted highway in the middle of the day. We pulled up to this massive hospital complex and it felt like a ghost town,” she said.

“The number of staff, 100 to 200, who were truly on the front lines showed us this was much deeper than we knew and would go on for much longer than we could expect,” Ruppenstein said.

Four Forks used its weekly email distribution to spread the word of the actual need for lunches and dinners at Stamford Hospilocal tal.

“The first Instagram post at Stamford Hospital was also tremendously effective in spurring people to act. The mobilization of Darien, Rowayton, New Canaan and Westport streets, neighborhoods, families and friends was truly amazing,” she said.

Throughout the pandemic, many Darien eateries took to creative ways to stay in business. Corbin Cares, started by David Genovese, partnered with Baywater, the Darien Foundation and the Lions Club to prepare meals for front-line workers, seniors and those in need. Four Forks was also part of that project.

At the end of March alone, neighborhoods had already donated hundreds of meals.

“We ended up delivering 100 meals from Four Forks tonight (it was important to us to support a local business at the same time) and we also donated $200 towards the hospital’s PPE fund,” said Darien resident Holly Mitchell at the time.

Following that delivery, Ruppenstein got a surprise call from a

Four Forks facilitated nearly 3,000 donated meals from Darien residents and neighborhoods during the months of March to early June for front-line workers, medical staff and shelters

fuel company.

“We have done many many of the deliveries like the one Holly did and a nurse at the hospital is a relative of the owners of Rowayton

Four Forks /