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Caterers in a marathon of food
By Emelie Rutherford / News Staff Writer/ 2004-04-05
Monday, April 5, 2004MILFORD -- Shin splints, blisters and leg cramps aren't even crossing the mind of Boston Marathon veteran Mike Ford as he prepares to return to the starting line this April 19, as he has done for the past two decades.
Milford's Ford is more focused on eggs, bacon and sausage -- lots of them.
When 80 Milford area runners go to Hopkinton in two weeks for the 108th Boston Marathon, Ford will likely beat them there, after arriving with other employees of Jean's Catering at 4 a.m. before serving breakfast and box lunches.
Ford, general manager of the family-run Jean's Catering on Central Street, has seen it all and met them all at the Marathon. Eyeing pictures of Jean's Catering employees with marathon celebrities, including past winner Bill Rodgers and WCVB reporter Natalie Jacobson, Ford said feeding 1,100 marathon volunteers is like catering an event at a large function hall.
"It's a big day, but we have a lot of those," said Ford, whose grocery list for Marathon Monday includes 100 dozen eggs, 100 pounds of bacon and 20 gallons of orange juice.
A decade after Ford's mother, Jean Ozella, started catering from the Central Street location in 1960, the Boston Athletic Association asked the business to sell food from a canteen-type setup near the start line.
"It got to be that there were so many that wanted to eat that we went into the (Hopkinton) Common and we fed all of the TV stations, and up at the Athletes' Village and we fed all the police departments and fire and cleanup people," Ford said.
Now Jean's Catering serves just those sundry volunteers, ensuring people from near and far get a taste of Milford while working the Marathon.
Jean's Catering is one of approximately one dozen businesses that the Boston Athletic Association contracts with to nourish the crowds of people along the marathon route, according to Jack Fleming, the BAA's director of communication.
Jean's Catering is not the only local business profiting from the marathon.
Belcastro's Bakery, run by Upton residents Rebecca and John Belcastro, will return to the Hopkinton Common this year. Rebecca Belcastro said she will set up a booth in the same place she has for the past 18 years, passing cotton candy and goodies to now-familiar faces.
The Belcastros will be with 25 other vendors serving the throngs on the Hopkinton Common on Marathon day, according to Mike Preite, Hopkinton's director of Parks and Recreation. Other vendors who paid from $100 to $225 for a spot on the common include craft makers, a bank and the John Kerry for President committee, Preite said.
Ford, from Jean's Catering, said going to Hopkinton on marathon day is a familiar routine, though dynamics have changed in recent years.
"The biggest change the last couple of years after 9-11 is they inspect the trucks and they have people that actually go underneath them," he said. "Everything is a pass from the police department and you have to have a letterhead from the marathon committee. Everything is really inspected."
( Emelie Rutherford can be reached at 508-634-7552 and erutherford@cnc.com. )
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