GLOUCESTER – A no-cost to patients, walk-in COVID-19 testing site opened its doors in Gloucester this week. Curative, a next-generation healthcare delivery company with a mission to end the COVID-19 pandemic, will operate the new site, making it easier than ever for local people to get tested for COVID-19 through the holiday season and after.

“Curative is proud to be partnering with The Open Door and be a crucial resource for the community during this pandemic,” said Fred Turner, CEO and co-founder of Curative. “Curative’s goal is to make testing more accessible with our easy, convenient testing site open to all. We offer a simple testing option with results delivered directly 1-2 days upon receipt at our labs and at no out-of-pocket cost to patients.”

Located at 26 Emerson Ave., Gloucester MA, in the annex of The Open Door campus, the new, temporary site is being operated by Curative and will be available through the end of February 2022. The Curative testing site will open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturdays. Insurance companies will be billed for testing, and those without insurance will be provided testing at no cost. Walk-ins are welcome.

Click here to register in advance to reduce wait time.

The site first opened on Tuesday, Nov. 30.

“We are proud to be partnering with Curative so that COVID-19 testing will be more convenient and accessible for people on Cape Ann,” The Open Door President and CEO Julie LaFontaine said. “The pandemic has demonstrated time and time again how crucial collaborations like this can be. COVID-19 has had devastating effects on food insecurity, and we hope this will be a key resource for our community in keeping case counts low this winter.”

Those seeking COVID-19 testing are urged to follow signage placed on site to locate the annex, as visitors are currently limited at The Open Door and will not be able to access the testing location through either The Open Door front desk entrance, administrative offices, Food Pantry or warehouses.

When facing The Open Door campus from Emerson Avenue, the annex is accessible on the left, through the glass door at the front of 26 Emerson Avenue, located under an awning. Those seeking testing are asked to park along Emerson Avenue and the lane on the left side of the building.

Masks are required on site at The Open Door campus.

For additional information on all of Curative’s offerings, including other testing sites in Massachusetts and nationwide, visit curative.com now.

About Curative

Curative is a leader in on-demand public health service programs and infrastructure development, with a current focus on COVID-19 testing sites of all sizes. Curative partners with communities to strengthen public health services with turn-key programs, easy-to-access experiences, and scalable infrastructure, keeping people everywhere safe, healthy, and informed. Co-founded by CEO Fred Turner and powered by a team of world-leading doctors, scientists, engineers, and health industry experts, Curative began focusing on COVID-19 testing in early March 2020 upon realizing the urgent need to scale COVID-19 test production in the United States. With a network of over 16,000 sites across over 40 states and three CLIA-certified, high-complexity laboratories, Curative and its managed medical entities have provided over 26 million COVID-19 tests and over 2 million COVID-19 vaccines. Beyond COVID-19, Curative is using its unique healthcare delivery network to bring access to the highest quality healthcare services to every American. For more details on Curative, please visit curative.com and follow on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

About The Open Door
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.

Founded in 1978, The Open Door is a 501 (c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit and community food resource center for low-income residents of Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester, Essex, Ipswich, Hamilton, Boxford, Rowley, Topsfield, and Wenham. In 2020, The Open Door helped stabilize the lives and health of 9,681 unduplicated people from 4,703 households through the distribution of 2.46 million pounds of food, amounting to 2.05 million meals.

Requests for food assistance during the last pandemic year were up 27 percent.

For more information, visit FOODPANTRY.org.

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Summer Meals for Kids, provided by The Open Door, Cape Ann’s go-to hunger-relief organization launched this week providing at least 11 sites in Gloucester and Cape Ann so kids and their families can make sure no kid goes hungry while school is out.

All sites serve take-out meals only, so children can eat at home with their families. Breakfast and lunch is bundled together, and Friday sites hand out extra meals for Saturday and Sunday.  Last year during the summer, The Open Door distributed 39K meals to local children–a FIVE-FOLD increase over pre-pandemic norms. This year the same need is expected. Current sites include:

GLOUCESTER 

• The Open Door 

28 Emerson Avenue 
June 17-August 27 

Mon thru Fri 
10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. 

•  Riverdale Park 

69 Veterans’ Way 

June 17- August 27 

Mon thru Fri 

12:15 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. 

•  Willowood Gardens 

40 Willowood Road 

June 17- August 27 

Mon thru Fri 

12:15 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. 

•  Pond View Village 

23 Lepage Lane 

June 17-August 27 

Mon thru Fri 

11:30 a.m. -12:00 p.m. 

•  West Parish School 

10 Concord Street 

(Enrolled) 

June 28-August 5 

Mon thru Thu 
11:15 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. 

•  Beeman School 

138 Cherry Street 

(Enrolled) 

June 28-July 29 

Mon thru Thu 

12:00 noon 

•  O’Maley Innovation Middle School 

32 Cherry Street 

(Enrolled) 

June 28-August 19 

Mon thru Thu 

12:00 noon 

•  Gloucester High School 

32 Leslie O Johnson Rd 

(Enrolled) 

July 6-August 6 

Mon thru Thu 

10:30am 

•  Camp Spindrift 

13 Atlantic Street 

(Enrolled) 

June 17-August 27 

Mon thru Thu 

11:00 a.m. – 1:00PM 

IPSWICH  

• Ipswich Community Food Pantry 

00 Southern Heights 
June 23-August 27 

Wed and Thu 
11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. 

•  Winthrop Elementary School

65 Central Street 

(Enrolled) 

July 6th-August 12th 

Mon thru Th 

Breakfast: 10-10:30AM  Lunch: 12-12:30PM 

For more information, go to FOODPANTRY.ORG/summermeals or call 978-283-6776 

About The Open Door

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. Founded in 1978, The Open Door is a community food resource center for low-income residents of Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester, Essex, Ipswich, Hamilton, Boxford, Rowley, Topsfield, and Wenham. In 2020, The Open Door helped stabilize the lives and health of 9,681 unduplicated people from 4,703 households through the distribution of 2.64M pounds of food (or 2.05M meals.) Requests for food assistance during this pandemic year were up 27 percent.

 

WEAR ORANGE SEPT 10 & DRIVE-THRU FOOD DRIVE SEPT 12!

September–Hunger Action Month–brings together community groups Awesome Rockport, Gloucester Police Dept., Rockport Exchange and We Are All In This Together to partner with The Open Door at a three-site Drive-Thru Food Drive on Saturday, September 12 from 8 am-1pm. Food drive locations include the Building Center and Market Basket in Gloucester, and Crackerjacks at Whistlestop Market in Rockport.

Community group volunteers will be on hand to collect donated items including canned tuna, 100% juice, cooking oil, tea/coffee, condiments, and baking mixes.

“Through wholesale purchase and the Greater Boston Food Bank, we are able to secure most of the staple items we need for a robust pantry distribution,” says The Open Door CEO Julie LaFontaine. “This community-wide Food Drive will add a little variety and a special treat for people hardest hit by the economic impact of COVID. In addition to tuna and 100% juice, we are asking for baking mixes, cooking oil, condiments—mayo, mustard, ketchup—coffee or tea.”

• Patty Wall founder of We Are All In This Together states, “We are excited to be a part of this collaborative effort!  It is our hope that the Gloucester and Rockport communities can come together to comfort and support our individuals, families and vital community resources like The Open Door. “
• Shannon Mason, representing the collaboration Awesome Rockport and Rockport Exchange says, “Awesome Rockport and Rockport Exchange are organizations committed to community and very glad to be a part of this effort!”
• Tim Huff, Chief Financial Officer of the Building Center says, “We’re thrilled to be able to participate in this event to help those in need and raise awareness about hunger in our community especially during these challenging times.”
• Gloucester Police Lieutenant Jeremiah Nicastro of the Gloucester Police Community Impact Unit states, “The job of the community impact unit is to improve the quality of life of the citizens in our community, and there is no better way to do this but to collaborate, partner, and support agencies that help people in our community like The Open Door.” 

Since mid-March, The Open Door has stabilized more than 5,000 households providing more than 750K meals through more than 15,000 curbside distributions and/or deliveries from their pantries to people in 10 Essex County cities and towns. The kitchen has prepared and distributed more than 20K fresh dinners.  The cumulative service total for people reached over these six months is more than 25K.  The Community Meal program has undergone a FOUR-FOLD increase, and Summer Meals for Kids (extended through mid-September when schools start) has increased FIVE-FOLD serving children under the age of 18 free breakfast and lunch 7 days a week. 

LIGHT THE CITY ORANGE! Members of the community are also encouraged to wear orange on Hunger Action Day (Sept 10) and Gloucester City Hall will light the city orange.

Hunger Action Month focuses food bank and food pantry efforts across the country to raise the awareness of hunger in their own communities including those new to hunger due to COVID. This year, it also honors the local volunteers and staff working on the frontlines to ensure all are fed.

(February 18, 2020) Gloucester, MA – – THE OPEN DOOR, a local nonprofit dedicated to alleviating food insecurity in the community, launches a $1.7M capital campaign to acquire the adjacent property 26 Emerson Avenue to expand its operations and build a new state-of-the-art commercial production kitchen.

The Open Door’s expansion project will add cold and dry storage, enhance client service areas, increase transportation capacity, and improve the living environment for Cape Ann’s low and moderate-income populations. This critical effort, the culmination of a 5-year strategic plan, will increase The Open Door’s capacity to distribute more nutritious food, develop greater opportunities for community engagement, and provide long-term solutions to hunger throughout the Region.

“We are thrilled to share the news of our kitchen expansion capital campaign,” said Kersten Lanes, Chair of The Open Door Board of Directors. “Our kitchen is the heart of everything we do at The Open Door.  With a larger, more professional, well-designed space, we will prep our Medically Tailored Groceries, host multiple volunteer groups, expand our training opportunities, and of course, produce hundreds of thousands of delicious meals for our clients!”

Approximately 90 percent of the funds have already been pledged or received towards the $1.7 million goal. This was accomplished during the quiet phase of the campaign and completed in December 2019. The Open Door will be reaching out to the community at large to raise the remaining 10% with the goal to complete this final fundraising phase by late spring.

“The Open Door reflects what this community thinks is important—its people,” said Julie LaFontaine, President, and CEO of The Open Door. “The community’s investment in this project is an investment in the lives and health of people we serve that will pay dividends of which we can all be proud.”

The kitchen expansion project will connect the existing properties of 26 and 28 Emerson Avenue to become a unified campus that will strengthen The Open Door’s food distribution systems and build nutritional capacity throughout their programs.

“The generosity of our early donors recognizes the critical need to increase capacity to help those feeling the economic pinch in our community. They have created a solid foundation for this vital expansion of our nutrition-based operations,” added LaFontaine. “For this we are truly grateful.”

The expanded campus of The Open Door will include a brand new, state-of-the-art teaching and commercial production kitchen that will prepare fresh meals daily for their programs. From Community Meals to Senior Soup and Salad, and partially prepped, fully prepped, and Grab ‘n Go items, the kitchen will increase production and utilize more food rescue product for distribution. The new kitchen will give larger groups of volunteers who come to help prepare food and meals for clients the elbow room they need to work together. The kitchen will also serve as an experiential learning classroom for the organization’s successful “On Your Mark” youth training culinary track embedded in existing programs.

The new campus will provide The Open Door much needed dry storage space for large quantities of donations, an additional cold storage unit dedicated exclusively for the kitchen, plus newly configured dish washing and laundry rooms. It will also house two electric kilns to fire bowls year-round for the Empty Bowl Dinner project that engages more than one thousand local people each year.

Strategically positioned to work with healthcare providers to offer medical nutrition therapy coupled with Medically Tailored Groceries, the new building will provide The Open Door capacity for innovation and growth at the intersection of nutrition and healthcare. It will give ample space for private counseling, workshops, and training activities to focus on health outcomes through nutrition education and open to clients and the public.

Lastly, as part of the expansion, the organization will make upgrades to the organization’s aging transportation fleet—two trucks and three vans. Efficient and reliable transportation is key to daily food acquisition with pickups from grocers and growers throughout the Greater Boston area. Last year, 25 percent of the 2.05 million pounds of food distributed—more than 500K pounds— was rescued from more than 55 local food collaborators. In 2019, The Open Door provided 1.71million meals to 8,287 unduplicated people.

“This new property and expansion is a game-changer for The Open Door – and for our community,” shares LaFontaine. “We followed a strategic growth plan to get us to this point. This expansion will enable us to address the community’s food security needs through the lens of better health. It will help us become even more efficient while increasing our food distribution capacity and adding critical services.”

Last May, The Open Door purchased the 26 Emerson Avenue property, located adjacent to its main facility in Gloucester. The building plans are currently in progress. The leadership hopes work will begin this summer and be completed by the end of the year.

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The mission of The Open Door is to alleviate the impact of hunger in the 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.  Last year it provided 1.71 million meals —2.05 million pounds of food — to   8,287 people through its food pantries and Mobile Markets. It serves residents of Gloucester, Rockport, Manchester By the Sea, Essex, Ipswich, Hamilton, Wenham, Rowley, Boxford and Topsfield.

For more information about The Open Door and ways to support the Capital Campaign, please visit foodpantry.org, email: info@foodpantry.org or call 978-283-6776.  Donations can be made online at http://www.foodpantry.org or by mail to 28 Emerson Ave., Gloucester, MA 01930.