"I'm Totally Blown Away"

By: Seth Doane
Topics: Field Notes

Seth Doane is a CBS News correspondent based in New York.

(CBS)

The Castelluccis received their first phone call before the CBS Evening News broadcast was even finished.

"I'm pretty much overwhelmed by the response and the goodness of people – coming out to reach out to someone that they've never met," Lisa Castellucci told me by telephone.

After our Evening News report and the Early Show segment, which aired the following morning, both the Castellucci family and the Open Door/Cape Ann Food Pantry, on which the family has come to depend, have heard from people across the country.

Highlighting that outpouring of support, our CBS News Boston affiliate WBZ is even working on a follow-up piece; "National Spotlight Helps Struggling Local Family."

Lisa Castellucci told me that she's most excited about the donations and inquiries that have been routed to the Gloucester, Mass., food pantry.

"It makes me feel good because in a sense I've been to share my story and, in a way, give back to the food pantry because they've already given to us," she said. "I'm totally blown away."

We didn't talk long on the telephone because the kids were crying in the background and Lisa was preparing to tell her very personal story to another media outlet.

But she was clearly touched by the response following the piece.

"One gentlemen said that he felt so urged in his heart to give something to us and he'd never ever done something like that in his entire life," Lisa recounted.