Julie LaFontaine is the Executive Director of The Open Door in Gloucester, MA. The mission of The Open Door is to alleviate the impact of hunger on Cape Ann. LaFontaine tells Kory Curcuru and Heather Atwood the pantry has been feeling the effects of inflation. Julie wants to remind people who may be struggling with the high cost of gas and home fuel that The Open Door is there for them. Order online a day in advance to select groceries, or show up on the same day for a pre-packed order. Click here to order: https://www.foodpantry.org/order-now/
The Open Door will be having its second drive-thru “Empty Bowl” fundraiser on May 7 from 4:00pm-6:00pm. Tickets are on sale now: https://theopendoorappointments.as.me…
Kory Curcuru:
Welcome back to another edition of Cape Ann. Today, Heather and I are joined by Julie LaFontaine, the executive director of The Open Door to give us an update on the current programs they have going on. Of course, they have a hundred other things going on, but we need to refresh your Julie. How have you been?
Julie LaFontaine:
I’ve been doing great Kory and Heather. It’s great to be here, thank you for having me. So things are busy at the pantry with the cost of fuel oil rising, makes it way more expensive to fill up our cars with gas. It costs more to heat our homes, and ultimately we’re paying more at the grocery store. And so, for people who have not needed to use the pantry in the past, but find themselves needing a little extra boost when there’s too much month left at the end of the money. It’s a good reminder that the food pantry is here. And things have changed a little bit.
Kory Curcuru:
So how have you adjusted to those changes?
Julie LaFontaine:
So in response to the pandemic and coming out the other side, keeping pace with the way that everyone gets their groceries, we know how an online ordering platform that works very similar to Instacart or Peapod, you can log on and you can shop for your groceries. You have lots of choice, everything’s arranged by category. You can click yes or no, or you can take something if it looks good, leave it if it doesn’t. And then choose the time that you’d like to come and pick up your groceries.
Kory Curcuru:
And that’s called SmartChoice?
Julie LaFontaine:
So it is, it’s SmartChoice at The Open Door. And so, SmartChoice is this really cool online ordering platform that really allows people to streamline what they’re choosing to bring into their home.
Heather Atwood:
So, Julie, has The Open Door have been suffering with these inflationary costs and supply chain issues? Are you guys feeling that too, in trying to access foods, milk and cereal and all?
Julie LaFontaine:
Like everyone, we’re feeling the pinch of the rise in food costs. And so, we’re just really working with all of our food partners, trying to bring in the best in the freshest, at the lowest price that we can negotiate.
Heather Atwood:
Right. And I have to just emphasize the empathy I have for people out there in the community who are feeling these high costs. Our fuel bill went up 44% and that’s a lot, how can people handle that?
Julie LaFontaine:
It’s a shock. We experienced the same thing. We filled up the fuel oil tank and it really, it was astounding. It’s the highest price, I think we’ve ever paid.
Heather Atwood:
Yeah, same. So people must be feeling it just everywhere.
Julie LaFontaine:
So people are feeling it across the board. So for people who’ve used the pantry in the past, that maybe haven’t been back, since we’ve switched to the online platform. You still can show up and get served food the same day that you show up, but your options will be fewer. So if you show up without an appointment, you’ll get a basic prepackaged bag that has your milk and your eggs and some meat, some staples, and you’ll definitely leave with some good wholesome food. But if you really want choice, the thing to do is to go to foodpantry.org the day before. And you can go up to “Order Groceries” as a tab that you can just click. And if you’ve not shopped here and you don’t have a shopper ID, there’s a new shopper form to fill out, or you can call 978-283-6776. And someone will assist you in getting set up for an online ordering account. And then from then on, you can place orders yourself if you’re comfortable logging in and going through the process. Or if you don’t really have access to internet, or you really don’t know how to use the platform, there’s always someone on the other end of the line at the Bing number. And again, that number is 978-283-6776. And if English is not your first language, never fear, The Open Door has an on demand translation service, where we can provide support in over 170 different languages.
Kory Curcuru:
Oh wow.
Julie LaFontaine:
And we do have someone who orders regularly from us who speaks Swahili. We’ve got you covered.
Kory Curcuru:
I guess so, that’s impressive. So, Julie, what other spring programs do you have going on at The Open Door?
Julie LaFontaine:
So we are really excited to have our new Farmers Truck out on the road. We launched last fall with the Veteran Center here in Gloucester and the Farmers Truck is just a great big food truck. The sides come up and the market rolls out and it allows us to travel throughout our service area and get to some of those hard to reach areas or maybe some targeted areas. The truck this week is actually heading out to North Shore Community College in Lynn. It also makes a monthly appearance at North Shore Community College in Danvers. We were at the Salem Veterans Center last week, and then we have a schedule of stops through public housing neighborhoods and schools throughout our 10 city and town service area.
Kory Curcuru:
Interesting.
Heather Atwood:
So I, just in case people have not used your services before, I think we should emphasize the quality of the food you offer at The Open Door. I mean, the fresh vegetables, frozen vegetables, frozen fish, frozen proteins. Do you want to talk about that a little bit, Julie?
Julie LaFontaine:
So really, The Open Door works to have a wide variety of foods that are culturally appropriate for people seeking help with groceries. And so, Heather, you’re absolutely right, we have lots of fresh produce. In fact, 34, excuse me, 34% of everything that we distribute is fresh produce. And then in addition to that, we have fresh milk and eggs, cheese and yogurt, we often have butter. And then beyond that, we have every kind of cereal that you can imagine, because the community’s been so generous in doing cereal drives for us. And your peanut butter and your tuna fish and your soup and all of the things that you would have in your cupboards. So there’s a nice variety of food. Not only that’s fresh, but that is culturally appropriate for all pallets.
Kory Curcuru:
I was going to ask how successful the cereal drives were, because I know you had, I think at least one, maybe two, recently, in the near recent past, and then you have any upcoming drives where folks can get involved in?
Julie LaFontaine:
So Kory you’re absolutely right. The community has rallied around the cry for cereal. And I think we’ve really focused in, on cereal because for all of us, we may be willing to try other brands for lots of things. But most of us who eat dry cereal are pretty brand loyal to the kind of cereal that we eat. And so, we asked the community to step up and step up they did. All of our drives or the past year had been focused around cereal and people bring in cereal by the carload. And then we take that cereal, we put it into our inventory. So if it’s Raisin Bran that you want, you can choose Raisin Bran. If you like Life cereal, you can choose Life cereal. And it really allows us to be as direct consumer as possible and allowing you to get those things to that feel like home on your breakfast table.
Kory Curcuru:
Heather, do you like Life or Raisin Bran?
Heather Atwood:
I am kind of a “Leave the Raises out person”, so I’ll take Life.
Kory Curcuru:
Oh, I love life too.
Julie LaFontaine:
Life is good.
Kory Curcuru:
Yeah.
Heather Atwood:
Life is good.
Julie LaFontaine:
Yeah, cash [inaudible 00:07:55] .
Kory Curcuru:
What I Want to ask about Julie too, was The Empty Bowl Dinner and is that virtual again this year?
Julie LaFontaine:
So I’m so glad that you brought that up. The Empty Bowl Dinner, we were not able to do it in 2020. Last year in 2021, we hosted a Drive Through version of that and we called The Empty Bowl To Go. So this year Empty Bowl To Go 2.0. Better than ever, will be on Saturday, May 7th, from 4:00 to 6:00 PM. People can make reservations online, starting tomorrow, getting their tickets. That will be clearly marked right on the website where you can do that. And because these past few years have been so hard on people’s pocket books. We’ve kept the event to be a pay what you can event. And so you can go on, you can make your reservation and then you can make a donation based on what you feel like you can afford to do.
And then, people on May 7th will be making their way down Emerson Avenue, the same road that many people found themselves on for the first time, a few years ago, when the pandemic hit and maybe since then as well. And you’ll come down Emerson Avenue, you’ll take the same drive that people take up to the rear of the building, to pick up your soup and your bowl. And there’s a lot of really fun activities along the way, a lot of community cheer and support that makes it a really fun Drive Through event. So it’s Empty Bowl To Go 2.0, Drive Through event, on Saturday, May 7th from 4:00 to 6:00 PM. Reserve your ticket starting April 1st.
Kory Curcuru:
Oh nice, yeah. I did it twice last year, Julie, did the Drive Through and everything about it from a to Z was awesome. Once you hit Emerson Ave, it’s volunteers are everywhere. So they’re literally leading you through the Drive Through. You can literally make your donation there or I was, did it through my phone, as I was there in line. The food’s great, the bowls are beautifully decorated, it’s an awesome event. You get the guys made it so easy for everybody to get it through because it was a long line. But it moved.
Julie LaFontaine:
Well, we’re hoping to replicate that this year and I’m glad that you brought up the beautiful Bowls because the Bowls have been made by many groups throughout the community who hosted socially distanced events on their own to get the bowls painted as well as the artists who contribute to this event each year. And those special Cape Ann artist bowls will be available starting tomorrow for bids. So you’ll be able to go to our website and that will take you out to the bidding site and you can see those really great bowls. If we don’t have them up first thing tomorrow, we’ll be adding them over the next week.
Kory Curcuru:
Yeah, literally two minutes before we went on air today, I was finishing cereal in one of those bowls. Legit. But it wasn’t Life [crosstalk 00:10:47].
Julie LaFontaine:
You know how to do that [inaudible 00:10:47].
Kory Curcuru:
Unfortunately. No, I got Honey Nut Cheerios instead.
Julie LaFontaine:
It’s so interesting to hear what people use their bowls for. They usually have a really specific purpose like, this is a cereal bowl or this is my popcorn bowl or this is my ice cream bowl. And they become part of people’s family histories and traditions. There are people who come for many years in a row. Kids who… There are people who are coming now, who came as kids who are coming to the event with their children. And that come kind of makes me feel old, but it also makes me feel good.
Kory Curcuru:
That’s great stuff.
Julie LaFontaine:
It’s a great Gloucester tradition. That’s for sure.
Kory Curcuru:
Okay, Julie, anything else going on?
Julie LaFontaine:
There’s always something going on every day, but we do have our two food pantries, one in Gloucester, one in Ipswich. Same great inventory, same portal, through foodpantry.org or with assistance at our main phone number 9-7-8-2-8-3-6-7-7-6, and a cheerful and friendly person will answer the phone and help you. And we’re just putting one foot in front of the other and making sure that we keep our community food secure. And we do that with every single person who is involved. And we appreciate that so much.
Kory Curcuru:
Well said, and you can learn more folks at foodpantry.org. Julie LaFontaine, thanks so much for your time. We’re going to come visit you soon. We’re due for a visit.
Julie LaFontaine:
That’s right.
Heather Atwood:
Yeah.
Kory Curcuru:
So we’ll make that happen sooner than later.
Heather Atwood:
Great.
Julie LaFontaine:
Well, thank you very much for having me.
Heather Atwood:
Thanks for all.
