NEW YORK — Traci Cangiano and her daughters Daniella and Kristina started baking a lot more at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
"We created the Facebook page the week everything got locked down. It was around Saint Patrick's Day,” said “Quarantine Kitchen” Founder Traci Cangiano. “We figured everyone was going to be in their kitchen cooking and locked down."
What You Need To Know
- Traci Cangiano and her daughters started the Quarantine Cookbook Facebook group when the city experienced a lockdown due to the pandemic
- In the group, people post their favorite recipes. It has more than 40,000 members
- Cangiano and her daughters decided to publish all the recipes into a cookbook
- All of the proceeds from the cookbook go to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation
On the Facebook page "Quarantine Kitchen," people post their favorite recipes and of course lots of photos.
"It’s funny, we actually see right before our eyes, not only people sharing food and stories — friendships are being made," Traci said.
And people really took to it: the page has more than 43,000 members.
"It turned out to be a great escape for people during quarantine," said Traci.
With this new network of people, the family decided to help The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, honoring firefighter Stephen Siller, who lost his life saving others on 9/11 and all first responders. It all started with a cutting board.
"My dad came upstairs with this cutting board that he had made downstairs in his shop,” Daniella Cangiano said. "We posted it and everybody wanted one, and that's how we started with the Siller Foundation.”
They raffled off the boards on a GoFundMe page that ended up raising more than $5,000 for the foundation.
"We decided to continue with the Stephen Siller Foundation, one because they are near and dear to our hearts — they are a local Staten Island based charity, Traci Cangiano said.
But then they took things a step further. A graphic designer in the group pitched the idea of publishing all the recipes.
"She said, ‘Listen, if you guys want to make a cookbook, I can help you,’" Traci said.
They pre-sold each book for around $34 and all the proceeds go directly to the foundation.
The cookbooks have more than 100 recipes sent in from people all over the country. So far, more than 1,800 have been sold.
"Once we get all the books sold, the net proceeds that we are going to be able to give to Siller is going to be somewhere in the area of $50,000," Traci said.
This whole effort has been extremely rewarding for them.
"It's crazy, everyone is sharing their stories, and through something we created," Kristina Cangiano said.
"We get text messages and emails and Facebook messages from people all the time telling us how this site, and the book as well, has taken them to another level in a very dark time," Traci said.
To join the group, search "Quarantine Kitchen" on Facebook.
------
Did you know you can now watch, read and stay informed with NY1 wherever and whenever you want? Get the new Spectrum News app here.
------
Looking for an easy way to learn about the issues affecting New York City?
Listen to our "Off Topic/On Politics" podcast: Apple Podcasts | Google Play | Spotify | iHeartRadio | Stitcher | RSS
-----
Further Coronavirus Coverage
What to Do If You Test Positive for COVID-19
How Hospitals Protect Against the Spread of Coronavirus
Coronavirus Likely Spreads Without Symptoms