Open Door Food Pantry of Perquimans helps feed hungry, change lifestyles

HERTFORD — At the Open Door Food Pantry of Perquimans County, volunteers Carter Stoop and Donald Hurdle had formed an assembly line.

Stoop opened the bags, and Hurdle placed packets of rice and brown sugar in them.

Once Hurdle was finished, Stoop loaded measured packets of cinnamon, blueberries, and raspberries into brown paper bags on a cart, where they would await any of that evening’s shoppers who selected the optional “Cinna-Yummy Rice Cereal,” but more on that later.

Open Door is a food pantry that attempts to do more than distribute canned goods, vegetables, and chicken to families struggling with food insecurity. Program Director Kim Stites said the pantry tries to provide what families are short on while giving them the tools to change lifestyles and live healthier lives.

She also wished more people understood that the Open Door Food Pantry has served Perquimans County for more than 40 years under that name. While the Open Door Church in Chowan County is one of many local sponsors, the non-profit food pantry started in the 1980s as a Catholic Church initiative.

The Open Door Food Pantry opened earlier this year in a new facility, a former restaurant, on the turnoff from U.S. Highway 17 to Winfall.

“Dina Hurdle, our chairman of the board, decided to look for a new facility because we had outgrown the old one,” Stites said. “She wanted us to purchase something rather than rent, and we had moved four or five times over the years.”

The Open Door Food Pantry began a capital campaign in 2022.

“They bought this building, enlarged it, put in refrigerator and freezer space, and opened in January of this year,” Stites said.

The Open Door Food Pantry receives food from the Food Bank of the Albemarle Food Pantry in Elizabeth City, the federal government, area grocery store chains, and through direct purchases.

When fresh products expire, grocery store chains donate some of the produce that’s found on the pantry’s shelves. Other produce is donated by local farmers, some of which may be perfectly good to use but not up to retail standards. The rest of the food is the same quality as that in retail grocery stores.

“Neighbors” — food pantry officials don’t like to use the word “clients” — who come to the pantry for the first time fill out an application that asks about basic financial information. Still, anyone who currently qualifies for government food assistance will automatically be eligible. Many other families need short-term assistance or fall into the gap between government assistance and self-sufficiency.

Stites said the Open Door operates on a different model than other area agencies. Here, neighbors shop for their family’s needs rather than receive standard allotments of groceries. Allowing families to select their food baskets eliminates waste, Stites said.

But Open Door is also about helping families pick and learn what to do with the right foods.

“The neighbors are free to choose whatever they want,” she said. “We’re just trying to provide information about what they choose for their families when shopping.

“If they have diabetic needs or heart conditions, at least they have an option of choosing, seeing what they’re choosing,” Stites continued. “We’re trying to provide more information and education as they’re shopping in the pantry.”

All the foods coming into the pantry are rated as green (best choices), yellow (good choices), and red (to be used occasionally or as treats). Neighbors can choose whatever they want, but the advice is there if they wish to consult it. The food is separated into three shelves for shoppers who want to prioritize their choices.

A new challenge for the food pantry is the county’s changing demographics. The Open Door stocks vegetables and fruits favored by Hispanic clients and offers special evenings for Spanish-speaking families with interpreters available.

Many families, especially those facing stressful circumstances, don’t know how to prepare meals with non-processed foods and vegetables. For them, the Open Door offers cooking instructions, put on by Sarah Saunders of the North Carolina Extension Office, once each month. She uses a portable kitchen demonstration unit to teach healthy cooking techniques around the county.

And about those bags of Cinna-Yummy rice cereal, the Open Door provides kits for families who want to try healthy alternatives to processed foods. Breakfast cereals and recipes are some of the most common offenders. Here, should you wish to try it, is the recipe for Cinna-Yummy rice cereal:

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked long-grain rice or brown rice

⅔ cup of milk

1 tablespoon of brown sugar

¼ cup of fresh fruit, such as blueberries

Directions:

Combine rice, milk, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small saucepan.

Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy (about 10 minutes).

Spoon the rice cereal into a small bowl and let it cool for three minutes.

Top with fruit.

The Open Door Food Pantry is located at 293 Creek Drive in Hertford and can be reached by phone at (252) 421-3700. The panty has a website at www.perquimansopendoor.com. The hours of operation are Mondays from 10 a.m. to noon; Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to noon; and Thursdays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The Food Pantry will host its annual fundraiser, the Perquimans Family Walk for Hunger, on Sept. 21. There is no fee to participate, but walkers should recruit sponsors who will contribute to cover their efforts. Registration begins at 8 am. and the walk starts at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 307 S. Church Street in Hertford.