Causes: Congregate Meals, Food, Food, Agriculture & Nutrition, Food Banks & Pantries, General Hospitals, Health
Mission: The mission of The Open Door is to alleviate the impact of hunger in our community. We use practical strategies to connect people to good food, to advocate on behalf of those in need, and to engage others in the work of building food security.
Results: During the past five years, The Open Door has intentionally moved away from only providing an emergency response to hunger and has instead implemented a prevention-based approach grounded in nutrition education, public health, and strong community development to tackle the food security issues within our community. Last year 5,438 people used our hunger-relief programs representing 1 in 7 of Gloucester’s population plus our neighbors in need from Rockport, Manchester, Ipswich and Essex. In the last three years we have seen a 30 percent increase in the number if requests for food assistance.
Target demographics: Clients are low and limited-income and range in age from children to seniors reflecting the diversity of the community including Caucasian, Portuguese, Albanian and Brazilian populations. We are organized to serve people residing in Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester, Essex and Ipswich
Programs: Our 2011Programs: Food Pantry provided 444,121 pounds of free canned goods, fresh produce, meats, bread, dairy products, and eggs to 1,487 households during 10,457 visits representing 3,593 people. Community Meals served 16,324 hot meals to guests needing food and companionship. Mobile Market, a free farmers’ market, provided 199,732 pounds of fresh produce and groceries to 893 households representing 2,249 people at four neighborhood-based, two school-based, and two senior center-based market sites. Emerson Market, a weekly surplus food market, provided access to 27,652 pounds of fresh (and locally grown) produce and wholesome breads. Summer Lunch served 4,213 lunches to children ages 1-18 at seven sites on Cape Ann during a ten-week summer lunch program. (Expanded our “Deconstructing the Lunch Bag” program that offers lunch choices in a salad bar to four sites. )Holiday Meals distributed 1,665 baskets with all the food to provide 9,990 holiday meals. Collaborative Meals supplied 27,179 pounds of groceries and fresh produce to clients of the North Shore Health Project, Wellspring House, Action Shelter, Harvest Meals, the North Shore Hunger Network, and the Chill Zone youth program. The Good Food Project launched with key partners to reach our most vulnerable populations with targeted nutrition boxes or bags to help better manage health conditions and diet. SNAP (Food Stamps Outreach) handled 500 appointments. Second Glance, the thrift store of The Open Door sold 243,392 low-cost clothing, furniture and household items to the community, honored 321 referral requests from other agencies, recycled textiles, appliances and metals, hosted Community Enterprise and STEP program participants for job training, and raised revenues to support our hunger-relief programs.
Mission: The mission of The Open Door is to alleviate the impact of hunger in our community. We use practical strategies to connect people to good food, to advocate on behalf of those in need, and to engage others in the work of building food security.
Results: During the past five years, The Open Door has intentionally moved away from only providing an emergency response to hunger and has instead implemented a prevention-based approach grounded in nutrition education, public health, and strong community development to tackle the food security issues within our community. Last year 5,438 people used our hunger-relief programs representing 1 in 7 of Gloucester’s population plus our neighbors in need from Rockport, Manchester, Ipswich and Essex. In the last three years we have seen a 30 percent increase in the number if requests for food assistance.
Target demographics: Clients are low and limited-income and range in age from children to seniors reflecting the diversity of the community including Caucasian, Portuguese, Albanian and Brazilian populations. We are organized to serve people residing in Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester, Essex and Ipswich
Programs: Our 2011Programs: Food Pantry provided 444,121 pounds of free canned goods, fresh produce, meats, bread, dairy products, and eggs to 1,487 households during 10,457 visits representing 3,593 people. Community Meals served 16,324 hot meals to guests needing food and companionship. Mobile Market, a free farmers’ market, provided 199,732 pounds of fresh produce and groceries to 893 households representing 2,249 people at four neighborhood-based, two school-based, and two senior center-based market sites. Emerson Market, a weekly surplus food market, provided access to 27,652 pounds of fresh (and locally grown) produce and wholesome breads. Summer Lunch served 4,213 lunches to children ages 1-18 at seven sites on Cape Ann during a ten-week summer lunch program. (Expanded our “Deconstructing the Lunch Bag” program that offers lunch choices in a salad bar to four sites. )Holiday Meals distributed 1,665 baskets with all the food to provide 9,990 holiday meals. Collaborative Meals supplied 27,179 pounds of groceries and fresh produce to clients of the North Shore Health Project, Wellspring House, Action Shelter, Harvest Meals, the North Shore Hunger Network, and the Chill Zone youth program. The Good Food Project launched with key partners to reach our most vulnerable populations with targeted nutrition boxes or bags to help better manage health conditions and diet. SNAP (Food Stamps Outreach) handled 500 appointments. Second Glance, the thrift store of The Open Door sold 243,392 low-cost clothing, furniture and household items to the community, honored 321 referral requests from other agencies, recycled textiles, appliances and metals, hosted Community Enterprise and STEP program participants for job training, and raised revenues to support our hunger-relief programs.
Food
Gloucester
