A win-win.

Order from Franklin restaurants that are hurting, and, at the same time, help hungry residents. Project Envoy, which started out as a Covid-era food security initiative for one church in Franklin and almost immediately became an interfaith endeavor, is taking off, with enthusiastic support from the Town and the community. It began last month and will run through April 30th. 

“When the First Universalist came up with Project Envoy (in the fall) to address food insecurity in town, it became clear that we should ask for allies from the other faith communities across Franklin to have greater impact. We reached out and asked if they would like to have representatives work as a sub-group of the Interfaith Council to work on food insecurity,” says Vicki Coates, a member ofthe First Universalist Society of Franklin (FUSF) and a member of the Franklin Interfaith Council Food Security Team. “Not surprisingly, there was a resounding ‘Yes!’ to work together on this topic. I have been very humbled by how much people have come forth to participate as residents, to buy meals and the restaurants (that are struggling) are generous in turn. It was like when you throw a stone in a pond, the ripples head out. People have been generous in giving space for the posters, donated by NHS Print, and space in their newsletters, including the senior center, town hall, the Downtown Partnership, the churches, and the Cultural District.”

 

“The Pandemic has hurt so many people right here in Franklin, and we wanted to take an opportunity to help our restaurants who are overcoming restrictions and closures, as well as the over 1,400 people who frequent The Franklin Food Pantry,” said Jane Fulton, fellow FUSF congregant and member of Franklin Interfaith Council Food Security Team.

Fulton explains that the name “Project Envoy” was conceived in the spirit of Benjamin Franklin, “who was an envoy to France for the United States. We’re sort of the envoys between the restaurants, the food pantry and the community, trying to rally the community support for local employers and the restaurants that we love in this very difficult time. We want to help them, because they’re important to the culture of the community. We recognized we could play a role in connecting those dots together, and could rally the support of buying power to go out and buy local.” 

Rev. Maggie Gellar, Deacon at St. John’s Episcopal in Franklin, represents her parish on the food security team. Gellar was among those who approached local restaurants. “Basically, you would pick a day of the week, maybe a day where your business was the slowest, and you would agree if people bought certain things off your menu or maybe your whole menu—you’d agree to donate a portion of those proceeds (to the Franklin Food Pantry). We let the restaurant decide what the portion would be,” says Gellar. The group opted to stay away from big chains.

The participating restaurants during the month of March include: 360 Pizzeria Franklin, The Rome, Spruce Pond Creamery, Acapulco’s, King Street Café, Intermission Café, Central Pizza, George’s Pizza, Dacey’s Market & Deli, Santa Fe, and Franklin Pizza and Deli. Participating restaurants are also updated on a calendar at The Franklin Food Pantry site (www.franklinfoodpantry.org), and the participating faith organizations also share the restaurant schedule. There is no need to mention Project Envoy when ordering.  

So far, feedback from participating restaurants has been positive.

Jan Spencer, a manager of King Street Café and Spruce Pond Creamery, says both locations participate in the program. King Street has suffered due to a limit of 40% on patrons allowed in.

“At King Street, we signed up for every Thursday through April, because that is kind of our slowest day, and at Spruce Pond, we’ll do it every Friday in Marchand two Tuesdays,” says Spencer. “We have noticed people come in and say that they’re part of it, which they don’t have to, so there is a slight uptick (in business). It’s a win-win for us.”

“Honestly, I don’t know why nobody thought about this sooner,” says Beth Colace, owner of  Rome Restaurant. She saw better-than-anticipated business the first night her restaurant participated, despite a snow storm. “We are participating again in March and probably will continue to participate as long as it happens,” she says. 

As for the Franklin Food Pantry, Communications Manager Laura Often can’t say enough. 

“From our perspective, it’s been amazing, says Often. “The Franklin Interfaith Food Security Team, they came up with this on their own, and I’ve been so impressed. Obviously, restaurants are struggling during the pandemic, and (Project Envoy’s) goal is to drive more people out. Maybe you wouldn’t (normally) go out for takeout, but maybe you will because some of it’s going to charity.” Just two weeks after the project launched, The Franklin Food Pantry had already received a check from one of the participating restaurants. 

“It’s community helping community,” says Often. The Franklin Food Pantry has seen about a 20% increase in need over the past year and receives no state or town funding. “I think it’s wonderful all the religious groups are getting together to help the town and the restaurants, and the restaurants are giving back to the food pantry, which is so appreciated, especially right now.”

The Franklin Interfaith Food Security Team members represent: The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints, First Universalist Society in Franklin, Franklin Federated Church, New England Chapel, St. John’s Episcopal, St. Mary Parish, and Temple Etz Chaim. 

“Certainly, food security is a social justice issue, and many of us see it as our faith in action,” says Coates, “but it’s just humanity in action. People want to help one another.”

“It’s been such a rewarding thing to do together, we’re already looking at what does the next 12 months look like to support food security in the area,” says Fulton.

If you are a restaurant and would like to sign up to participate in Project Envoy please visit: https://www.franklinfoodpantry.org/envoy-program. 

The Franklin Food Pantry helps over 1,000 individuals and is dependent entirely on donations. Visit www.franklinfoodpantry.org for more information.