THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2021 Page 3 Concerns arise over inclusivity of food vendors By Christopher Roberson W ard 1 Councillor Fred Capone recently offered a Resolution to explore the possibility of bolstering the number of restaurants that provide meals to Everett’s senior population. Capone said several establishments have fallen victim to the financial strain inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic. “So many businesses have shut their doors,” he said during the City Council’s February 22 meeting. Therefore, he said, this would be an excellent opMayor Carlo DeMaria with Sergeant Stephen Panzini, who was promoted to lieutenant. would have the capacity to be able to handle 520 meals on a daily basis. It’s not an easy task,” he said. “I can assure you that there was no bias put into that list.” Moreschi also invited the councillors to let him know if there were other suitable restaurants he was missing. Yet, Adrien continued to take Shown from left to right are Sergeants Jeffrey Gilmore, Stephen Panzini and Larry Jedrey, who were sworn in as lieutenants. portunity for those businesses still in operation to remain open with revenue from a city contract. Chief Procurement Officer Robert Moreschi said that for the past several months Rita’s Catering and The Square Deli have been providing 520 meals a day for Everett’s seniors. Regarding quality control, Moreschi said Food Inspector Louis Staffieri is at Rita’s and The Square Deli every day to ensure that meals are properly packaged and served at the correct temperature. Moreschi said he also reached out to La Perle, DiBlasi’s Subs, 8/10 Bar and Grille, Bucci’s Deli and Pizzeria and the Main Street House of Pizza, giving them the option of joining the food service effort. However, he said, none of those businesses responded. “I would love to have other businesses join in on this,” said Moreschi. Councillor-at-Large Gerly Adrien asked Moreschi why other restaurants were not contacted. “When we do this work, we should be reaching out to all businesses,” she said, adding that no Haitian, Latin or Asian establishments were on Moreschi’s list. “It goes back to equity, that’s a big concern of mine.” Moreschi said that for logistical reasons only certain businesses were contacted. “We felt that those were the larger businesses in the city that issue, saying it was not her responsibility to contact businesses about food distribution. “I don’t get paid that money to do that, you guys do,” she said to Moreschi. However, Capone said there would be no harm in providing assistance to Moreschi and his colleagues. “I know the process is a little bit daunting, so they’re going to need some help,” he said. Therefore, the council agreed to open a bidding process in an CONCERNS | SEE PAGE 4
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