It is no secret that a visit to a supermarket, grocery store or upscale restaurant these days might result in a painful case of sticker shock thanks in part to inflation and the spike in gasoline prices, which have led to cost increases for so many commodities.

But Chestnut Hill resident and chef Deborah Lotterman has been offering a prescription for this skyrocketing prices ailment — as least temporarily. During most of the year, Lotterman, founder of the DoubleDown Supper Club, serves a free — yes, free — monthly multi-course dinner at her residence near the Water Tower.

The only catch is that each participant must make a monetary donation of any amount to support Germantown Community Fridges, two very busy sidewalk fridges and pantries at 20 W. Armat St. and 19 E. High St. According to the organizers’ website, the initiative’s mission is “to help fight hunger and food insecurity and provide free, supplemental food in Germantown. Stocked by the community and for the community, anyone who needs food is welcome to take it. The fridges are maintained and stocked by volunteers and community members.”

Lotterman grew up in the Baltimore area, where she graduated from the Baltimore International Culinary Arts Institute (she calls that name “a mouthful,” which is only appropriate for a cooking school). She went onto college at Towson University, then studied professional writing in graduate school at Emerson College in Boston where she paid for school with loans and by waiting on tables. She stayed in Boston for 36 years starting in 1987, eventually becoming chief creative officer for a medical advertising agency, Precision Effect. While there, she fell in love with a teacher, Brett Flehinger, who moved with her to Philadelphia in 2023, after he was hired to teach history at the Agnes Irwin School in Rosemont.

“When I came to this area, I found out about the Germantown Community Fridges,” Lotterman told the Local, “and I fell in love with them. I wanted to help out, so I came up with the idea [of the free dinners]. It is so much fun for me. You are constantly learning. So when I would meet people, I would invite them to the dinners, up to 16 at each dinner. I did a test drive in May of 2024 and started doing them regularly that fall.”

Lotterman puts on the dinners from September to November and January through May. Needless to say, there are waiting lists since word has gotten out in the community. Lotterman spends $250 to $400 for the ingredients for each dinner. “I have to prepare food ahead of time so I can spend time with guests,” she said. “I am also willing to prepare dinners in other people’s homes. They can eat in their own home and help with the cooking if they want to get all the glory.”

Last month, Lotterman made a shrimp ceviche puttanesca that scored a home run with guests. One diner called it “epic.” In January, she made individual mushroom Wellington with a port wine reduction, which resulted in all empty plates. Other extra-base hits were bucatini with a mushroom fauxlognese (no meat) and a dessert of cardamom pots de crème with ginger molasses snaps and strawberry tirami suzettes.

“I’m fortunate to have been one of the charter members of the DoubleDown Supper Club, said Mark Mattson, an interactive art director, artist and Mt. Airy resident. “The company is always lively, conversation just flows, and the food is out of this world.”

“I’ll never forget those latkes with creme fraiche and smoked salmon,” added Andrea Appel, an attorney and owner of The SPACE Art Gallery in Bella Vista. “Deborah has an extraordinary ability to combine ingredients and people. It’s always such fun!”

Lotterman said, “I love it here in Philly. Chestnut Hill is like a Hallmark card — gorgeous area, trees everywhere, [a] walk to the co-op. I like to shop the way the French do, buy for that day. We just did a birthday dinner that was so much fun. We got a sitting ovation. When you come to a new city, it’s not easy to make friends, but I have made so many wonderful friends this way.”

The supper club has raised more than $6,000 so far for Germantown Community Fridges.

“Some people keep giving,” she said. “The conversation is natural at the dinners. Life gets better all the time. My mom was a great cook. I’ve found that people in general are generous. They like the fact that it is all for a good cause.”

For more information, contact @doubledown_supperclub (Instagram) or email at doubledownsupperclub@gmail.com. (There is no website yet.) Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com.