LUNCHES FOR LOCALS

The Aspen Art Museum (AAM) and museum SO Café culinary partners Allen and Julia Domingos (Epicure Catering) announce the launch of “Lunches for Locals”—a program designed to provide free, to-go midday meals for those in need throughout the valley as the local community undergoes a second wave of COVID-19 pandemic-related shutdowns.

The AAM and Epicure want to build on the successful efforts explored during the first wave of the pandemic by working together to assist service workers and community members most affected by the restrictions. In this way, Epicure and the AAM hope to help provide a neighborly and nourishing lift for those whose livelihoods have been adversely affected by current shutdowns.

Under the Lunches for Locals plan, free meals are offered from 12–1:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays to anyone signing up online via prompts provided on the AAM website (aspenartmuseum.org). The program will be ongoing for an indeterminate time in the foreseeable future. AAM Staff will be on-hand to help safely distribute the lunches, which will be available for pick up at the museum’s Spring Street entrance at the bottom of the AAM Grand Staircase. Visitor guidelines apply, with mouth and nose covering and adequate distancing required during pick up.

AAM Director Nicola Lees: “I am so grateful for our longstanding collaborative efforts with SO Café and Epicure partners Julia and Allen, who fired up their kitchen to cook for frontline community responders in the Spring of 2020. We are so grateful to the Aspen Community Foundation’s philanthropic efforts and to Soledad and Robert Hurst, Melony and Adam Lewis, and Paul and Erin Pariser, and others who supported these endeavors.”

“Epicure Catering/SO Café co-partner Julia Domingos Allen and I are thrilled to lend our services to the community during this complicated time.  By partnering with the AAM, we’ll be providing a nourishing and delicious lunch to those in need of a little lift in their day.  We’ve been part of the Aspen hospitality industry for more than two decades, and it’s the least we can do for our fellow locals.”

The museum’s commitment to community-based programs is an important aspect of its ongoing mission to foster lifelong appreciation and understanding of the visual arts and their role in wider understanding and community building.

Aspen Art Museum Hours

Tuesday–Sunday, 10 AM–6 PM
Closed Mondays

AAM ADMISSION IS FREE courtesy of Amy and John Phelan
Visit the AAM online: aspenartmuseum.org