Dr. Ed Iannuccilli: Hope and Main Does It, Again
Dr. Ed Iannuccilli, Contributor
Dr. Ed Iannuccilli: Hope and Main Does It, Again
The businesses are housed in a skillfully restored old elementary school, a replica of the one I attended in Providence. I had goosebumps as I smelled the oiled, wooden floors, pushed open the substantial doors, remembered the cozy classrooms and touched a brick wall similar to the one where I once pitched baseball cards. It was pure nostalgia that set the tone for the delight inside.
Hope and Main is helping to grow the local economy by creating support for food entrepreneurs while cultivating an environment where startups can test, create, and thrive. The enthusiasm of the excited entrepreneurs was readily apparent. Hope and Main has reached even further.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTWith the onset of the COVID epidemic, Lisa, Waterman and the staff rose to the occasion of need, with nothing more than a goal of helping their community. They started with the donor and grant (RI Foundation) supported, Nourish Our Neighbors program.
For the past twelve weeks, five days a week from 8:00 am to 11:00 am, they have served as a distribution point for grab and go meals prepared by the Bristol Warren School District for eligible food insecure families. Three days a week, they supplement the grab and go meals with meals prepared by a rotating squad of marvelous member companies at the Hope & Main facility. These young chefs prepare over six thousand meals each week, serving 200 to 300 meals each day; near 7,000 in total.
Once each week, they deliver prepared meals to the Senior Centers in Bristol, Warren, and Barrington and to vulnerable, food insecure seniors throughout the East Bay; near 2,000 in total.
They have provided prepared meals to the Women's Resource Center (transitional housing for women and children victims of domestic violence), and to L.I.F.E. Inc. for developmentally disabled adults living in residential settings and group homes.
One month ago, Hope and Main began to offer a community meal-share program called Buy One/Give One. Meals can be purchased for $16 with half the proceeds going back to the Nourish Our Neighbors program. For that cost, one meal will be available for the purchaser to pick up on Mondays, from 4-7 pm, and one meal will be reserved for a community member. This sustains the program while promoting an equitable food system. The food entrepreneur offering the meal varies each week. We have partaken, and every meal has been wonderful.
To date, Hope & Main has distributed almost 16,000 meals.
Says Raiola, “One of the silver linings of the crisis has been the opportunity for so many new, young chefs to shine. There are several entrepreneurs who have even launched their businesses during this pandemic. They are enthusiastic, mission-driven, problem solvers who love the opportunity to serve the community.”
Thank you, Hope and Main. You have made, and are making, a difference.
Dr. Ed Iannuccilli - As the author of three popular memoirs, “Growing up Italian; Grandfather’s Fig Tree and Other Stories”, “What Ever Happened to Sunday Dinner” and “My Story Continues: From Neighborhood to Junior High.” Learn more here.