Can You Help The Open Door?

~ todtheopendoor

Donations needed!

The rain on the morning of Saturday, May 10, put a damper on an annual food drive that benefits The Open Door. Each year, local letter carriers from Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester and Ipswich collect donations of nonperishable food and deliver them directly to The Open Door through the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.

It’s a national initiative spearheaded each year by the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) that benefits food pantries all over the country.

Unfortunately, inclement weather nearly halved the donations collected last weekend.. Local letter carriers collected approximately 9,000 pounds of good food for local people whereas last year, the same food drive collected 17,000 pounds of food on a sunny, clear-skied day.  

Want to help The Open Door make up the difference and stock the shelves at its food pantries this spring?

The Open Door will be accepting additional donations of nonperishable food at all of its locations next week during business hours: 

  • The Open Door Gloucester Food Pantry at 28 Emerson Ave., Gloucester MA will accept donations at the back of the building Monday through Friday from 8:30a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 
  • The Ipswich Community Food Pantry at 00 Southern Heights, Ipswich MA will accept donations Wednesday and Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 
  • Second Glance Thrift Store of The Open Door (Main Store) at 2 Pond Road, Gloucester MA will accept donations Monday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. at its main store.  

Food insecurity has been up at The Open Door, especially over the past two years. In 2024 and in 2023, the nonprofit met a 30% increase in requests for food assistance. With looming federal cuts to programs like SNAP (formerly known as Food Stamps) and at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), in addition to tariffs, extra donations are a huge help as The Open Door works to stock its shelves.

Most needed donations include:  

  • Coffee 
  • Condiments (ketchup, mustard, mayo, and salad dressings) 
  • Cooking Oil 
  • Peanut Butter 
  • Canned Tuna 

The Open Door asks the community to please avoid donating anything in glass containers. 

Thank you!