Culinary Adventure Interview Featuring Stephen Popper from Meals of Hope

Good morning, Southwest Florida. Those who are far that are dialed in live or perhaps watching us on instant replay, my name is Renee Hahn and I'm here today as part of Naples Women's Club. And I'd like to introduce my guest here today, Stephen Popper. I'm going to come back to him in a moment. Before I do that, I wanted to describe what we're here to talk about today. So Naples Women's Club is a local organization that gives back to the community. They do a ton of things throughout the year. One of the things we have coming in 2021, it sounds so odd to say 2021. One of the things we have coming in 2021 is a brand new opportunity that we've never done before. It's called Culinary Adventure. We have 3 luncheon dates where 16 different restaurants will be participating and the chefs in those restaurants will be hosting very intimate dinners COVID-compliant luncheons that people can purchase tickets to, to come to. And all of this is really geared at 3 things. Number 1, when we were planning this event as a way to give back to the community, we wanted to make sure that the culinary community that's been so impacted by the COVID situation gets some financial support through our, our doing the luncheons there. And it's, again, we're really excited to chefs are excited, the restaurants are excited. Number 2, we wanted to provide an exciting adventure for guests. So those people that purchase tickets to go to one of the 3 luncheons, we want it to be a really great experience, something intimate with great food, great company, and again being the VIP guest of the, um, chefs. And third, which brings me to Stephen this morning, We wanted to have a way to provide funding back to agencies in Collier County that deal with residents with food insecurity. And that brings me today to the honor of getting to speak to Steven with Meals of Hope. And Steven, what I'd love to do first, welcome and good morning. Good morning. I'd love if you wouldn't mind just a brief introduction of yourself so we know who we get to talk to today. So anything you'd like to share on the personal side.

Sure. Well, I'm the president and CEO of Meals of Hope, which I founded in 2007. And actually, I founded the organization after my mother came to me and asked me if I would help send some food to Haiti. And, you know, I always laugh that no matter how old you are, you have to do what your mother says. And but out of a conversation— What's that?

I said you're a smart man.

So your mother and your wife. Um, but, uh, you know, from after that, uh, brief conversation, you know, Meals on Hope has grown out of that. Um, I moved to Southwest Florida in 1994. Sounds like a really long time ago when you talk to other people. Uh, married, uh, to, uh, my wonderful wife Sharisa. And we have 3 children.

Well, that's wonderful. And Stephen, thank you not only for listening to your wife and your mother, but for having a giving heart. I know personally myself, I think I've touched Meals of Hope through the church, through the schools, through Girl Scouts. You guys are an absolute fiber of the community. And what I'd like to do is share a little bit about the organization, what your focus is, any information you'd like to share with our audience today.

I appreciate that. So Meals of Hope has really grown tremendously and really out of an outpouring of what happened after Hurricane Irma. And at that time, right after that, we had a strategic meeting and really decided, you know, what are our— what is our mission statement? What are we trying to do? And that is to make sure that no one in our community no one goes hungry and that there's easy access to food for anyone in need in our community. So with that, we started opening up more and more food pantries. And then of course with COVID going on, it's really exploded. But right now we're having— we have 12 to 13 food pantries each and every week. And the difference between the two is that we do have a couple that are every other week. But with that 12 to 13 food pantries, we're giving food to over 3,500 families each and every week. And that's families, not individuals. And at our food pantries, we're giving out frozen meat, fresh produce, canned goods, dry goods. We give out diapers, we give out feminine hygiene products. And adult. So we really try to be the grocery store to the families that are, that come to us.

Well, bless you. So many things we catch ourselves getting caught up, worried about in the world. And if you can't meet basic needs, the other stuff really doesn't matter.

Exactly right. And, you know, we, we don't care about what kind of car you drive or what your, what your story is. We're here to, for anyone in need, we're here for them. So when people come to our food pantry, they don't have to say why they need to be there or what their financial situation is. Self-reporting program, and as I said, we're there, we're basically like a free grocery store.

Yeah, well, that's fantastic. Steven, and I know as you alluded to, when you get in times like we are in the current environment with people's circumstances sometimes being adversely impacted, the need is greater than ever. And the Naples Women's Club is certainly honored and excited to be able to have you as one of the organizations that our upcoming event, Culinary Adventure, will, will support. What I'd love to do is, as a last item here, Steven, is We have— we'll be having— in fact, tickets are on sale now, $125 per ticket. And I'll tell you, think about the opportunity to not only have a great luncheon, because these are really going to be awesome, but so much more important to that is the opportunity that your enjoyment of that luncheon is going to bring benefit in the ways that Steven talked about through organizations like Meals of Hope. So Steven, talk to us a little bit. If I'm sitting here and I've got a giving heart and I happen to check my calendar and January 27th, February 24th, or March 24th is open, what would some of my ticket proceeds as through the donation from the Naples Women Club help to do in the, in the community in next year?

Well, Renee, I think what you said earlier is, is very true in the sense that, uh, you're on an immediate thing, you're helping the restaurants by having that, by by attending, uh, one of the three, uh, one of the three days. But in regards to Meals of Hope, um, our, our, one of our truly major fundraising, uh, efforts, we have a social enterprise where we pack meals all over the United States, and that has been severely impacted because of COVID So the fact— and so any donation that comes in right now is really gears towards keeping all of our 6 or 7 trucks on the road with fuel, paying for— right now we have 3 different warehouses, making sure that we can keep our warehouses open, our trucks moving, and, you know, basically covering, helping to cover our operation expenses that we have incurred which have really truly exploded because we've actually hired quite a few more people to cover the need that we have in our community.

Well, I love it. Sincerely, Stephen, thank you for all that you do in the community. We are excited about this event. So far for these early registrations, things seem to be really on par to fill these luncheons up. So if you've been watching this segment and you, whether you just want to have an enjoyable luncheon with some great company, you want to get to know one of the chefs more intimately at one of our 16 restaurants that we're partnered with, or if all of those things and you want to make sure that you find a way to give back to the community in a great time of need, we'd love to have you go to www.culinaryadventurenaples.org, sign up for one of the 3 luncheon dates you see below, and, uh, we we hope to be able to bring great benefit back to the community through tremendous organizations like Meals of Hope. So again, Stephen, thank you so much. And Pardi, anything you'd like to share before we wrap up here online?

Again, we thank, thank the Naples Women's Club so much. And for all everyone that's listening and that will be attending the 3 lunches coming up, we really can't do what we do in the community without the support of the community. So thank you all so very much.

And Steve, just because I know, you know, obviously we're talking an event next year and there's needs today, if somebody wanted to get involved through volunteer, through donations, how could they reach you and your organization?

You can send me an email, which is very simple, it's steve@meals of hope.org, or call us, and my telephone number is 239-370-4800. We would love to have help any, in any way, in volunteering and financial help as well. But with the amount of food pantries that we have, we are always looking for volunteers to help.

Well, again, Steven, I know you are a busy, busy man with very important things, all the things we talked about today. So I so appreciate you carving out just a bit of your day to share this information. And again, those watching live or on replay, we hope to see you at this event and future events. Feel free to share this on with others, and let's fill up the room with giving hearts. Thank you, Stephen. I hope you have a fantastic day.

Thank you. You too, Renee.