Food Distribution, Food Pantry (Distributes to the Public)

The Open Table's Pantry

Contents of a basic bag.


A view of the pastries,
and produce tables.

The Open Table's pantry staff pack and distribute bags of groceries to the guests. On some recent Thursdays up to 150 bags have been distributed. The basic bags containing non-perishable items are packed at the Pantry store rooms (Pantry A) on Everett Street and then transported to the site of the dinner and actual distribution which is usually at First Parish in Concord (Pantry B) but occasionally must move to other sites in Concord if the hall at First Parish is committed to a function.

When a guest enters the pantry (Pantry B) they get a basic bag and proceed to the "Choice" tables were they may chose one or two items from a wide variety of miscellaneous contributed foods, typically including pizza slices, bagged nuts, rice, coffee, tea, bottled juices, baking mixes, cereals, and condiments. Then they proceed to the bread and dessert table where an individual may choose one sliced bread and usually several other bread items such as packages of hot dog buns, rolls, or unsliced bread, and a desert item such as a package of a few brownies or cookies, and for a family perhaps a pie or cake. At the produce tables they can choose several items from a variety of contributed fresh vegetables and fruits, usually including 2 bananas and some potatoes and carrots, with a much wider variety available usually during the summer.

Items for which the supply is usually sufficient to meet demand, such as unsliced bread, certain ethnic foods, canned pumpkin pie filing, and canned beans are placed on "take it if you want it" unsupervised tables outside the main pantry distribution area.

Packing the bags at pantry A usually requires 2 or 3 volunteers who start at about 2:00 pm and work until about 3:00 pm. Meanwhile a volunteer is selecting and sorting items for the "choice" and "take it if you want it" tables. Then the bags and choice items must be transported to the pantry B, which requires a van or several car trips. The Fenn School provides the van and help with transportation during the school term.

A group of volunteers are also collecting donated and purchased items from stores, farm stands and other food sources starting as early as 7:00 am and continuing until just before the distribution starts at 5:15 pm. Other volunteers arrange the purchase of foods to keep staples in stock, organize food drives, and sort food donations as they arrive at the pantry A.

Meanwhile at pantry B, several volunteers are setting up the tables and arranging the bread, produce and other items that are received during the afternoon from various local contributing stores, farms, and other sources, as well as purchased items that Open Table sometimes procures like coffee and cereals to supplement the contributed "choice" items. This process is like setting up a small store from scratch each Thursday starting with an empty room and folded tables.

When all the items are arranged and the dinner is served at 5:15 pm the guests, who have been given numbers as they arrive for the dinner are invited to the pantry in groups of 10 on a first come - first served basis. There a group of about 7 volunteers control the distribution of the bags and the other items.

Finally, after the distribution has ended at 6:30 pm a group of volunteers must clear all the un-distributed items away to storage, fold all the tables and store them, collapse any cardboard cartons and bag them and all the debris, for disposal and clean up the room.