Yellow Door lunch Saturday to benefit Waterloo Recreation Area boardwalks

The combination of locally produced food and a local cause that needs donations is the drawing card Saturday for the first Yellow Door lunch.

Roast beef with horseradish cream cheese spread, pulled barbeque pork, and turnip pickles are among the locally produced foods that will make up the noon-2 p.m. lunch at the Chelsea Alehouse Brewery, 420 N. Main in Chelsea.

The goal is to raise $5,000 to fully fund the replacement of the Discovery Center boardwalks in the Waterloo Recreation Area. A donation of $15 per meal is requested.

"The Discovery Center is such an important part of bringing visitors to Chelsea, and the boardwalks really need to be replaced," said Janice Ortbring, one of the creators of Yellow Door.

Since 2009, Yellow Door has always meant a fundraising breakfast. Faith in Action, The Mission Marketplace, the Chelsea Community Kitchen, and Dexter's Arts, Heritage and Culture Committee are among the recipients of the funds. Venues have varied and been in both Chelsea and Dexter.

Yellow Door co-founder Jane Pacheco said, "We started Yellow Door as a weekly fundraising breakfast for Chelsea Community Kitchen 3 1/2 years ago. Now it is a sporadic farm to table dining experience raising funds for community groups in need."

The origin of the Yellow Door name comes from its original venue- Chelsea resident Ortbring's house with its yellow front door. She and husband Todd Ortbring began hosting a breakfast every Thursday morning in 2009.

"It was kind of a weekly party, and overnight we had people who wanted to help out," said Janice Ortbring about all the volunteers that amassed.

Pacheco says that a core group of volunteers decides what organization or need in the community will benefit from the funds raised at a Yellow Door function.

In addition to fundraising, Yellow Door's other goal is to promote local foods. The Lunasa market was born as a result of Yellow Door and co-created by Pacheco. WIth more than 30 vendors, Lunasa connects consumers to area farmers and food producers through a membership. Members collect whatever they order online at a monthly pickup at the Washtenaw Food Hub on Whitmore Lake Road, just north of downtown Ann Arbor.

Ernst Farm, Back Forty Acres, Greystone Creamery and The Brinery are among Lunasa's vendors and are also providing food for Saturday's lunch.

"People say it feels like community to eat at one of our functions," said Ortbring. The Chelsea Alehouse Brewery, which will donate a percentage of Saturday's beer sales to the Waterloo Natural History Association, is at 420 N. Main St. in downtown Chelsea.

Lisa Carolin is a freelance reporter. Reach the AnnArbor.com news desk at news@annarbor.com.