Food Boxes provided by Copa.
Roberto and Elizabeth own and run Copa, a popular farm-to-table Cuban restaurant and living wage employer in Durham. Copa has been a key supporter of the Durham Community Food Pantry (DCFP) and clients over the last two years.
The husband-and-wife team began working with the DCFP at the beginning of the pandemic by participating in a program that provided hot meals to clients. The program was a partnership with the nonprofit Upstream Works Collaborative, and it allowed donors to contribute money online to Copa. These funds covered the cost of making individual hot meals to serve pantry clients each week.
When funding for the program ended this year, Copa sought other ways to continue helping DCFP clients while promoting sustainability. Each week, Doug, a Copa employee, delivers three to four crates of delicious rice, beans, vegetables, and pork to be distributed in addition to the food boxes clients normally receive.
In addition to the groceries that families bring home, Copa also distributes hot meals using beans, rice, and vegetables that are frozen after each evening’s dinner service. To complete the meal, they add vegetables and spices from Down 2 Earth Farms in Rougemont, NC and Copa’s farm in Hillsborough, NC. Bertha, a Copa kitchen employee, combines these ingredients into delicious meals which are topped off with fresh, slow-roasted pork sourced from Parker Family Farms in Hurdle Mills, NC.
Volunteers love the smell of the Cuban food and clients enjoy receiving the hot meals.
“We appreciate Doug’s pleasant demeanor, humility, and dedication to service along with all of the Copa staff. We are grateful to him and everyone at Copa for all that they do to support our work.” shared Cameron Morgan, DCFP Assistant Director.