Stone Soup Kitchen Ministries

  In memory today of all of those we've loved and lost. I've said before that no one wakes up one morning and decides to become addicted to drugs or alcohol. You can read the rest of that post here: Opioids and other poisons For helpful information and resources, judgment-free, please watch this Addiction 101 video by Tara Rivera which took place at Stone Soup Kitchen. Other resources:  Mass Substance Use hotline: 800-327-5050  Emergency: 800-977-5555 Two programs close by that also act as clearinghouses and can refer you to appropriate places for help: Spanish-American Center   112 Spruce St, Leominster MA 978-534-3145 Restoration Recovery Center    40 Fairmount St, Fitchburg, MA  978-430-0412

  We're getting to the end of our month-long food drive at the Ayer Police Department. This was what was picked up just this week!  💕 Thanks to Sgt John MacDonald, Chief Brian Gill, Mark LeBel, and all the rest who made this happen. Thank you to all of our friends and neighbors who donated! Thanks and gratitude to Alison + Rich E, Sonja C, Dan C, Mike H, who helped pick up each week and transport it to us. You are all our heroes!

Here’s a look at the five most-costly states for single workers, based on how much money they’d need each year to get by. Hawaii: $112,411 Massachusetts: $87,909 California: $80,013 New York: $73,226 Alaska: $71,570 According to CNBC Image: Canva

"Dr. Bonnar had made rough estimates about the homeless patients he had known.  Ninety percent, he told me [Tracy Kidder], had been afflicted by substance abuse or mental illness or both.  And at least 75 percent had suffered the physical and psychological effects of severe childhood trauma. Over the years, Jim [O'Connell] had learned the worst parts of many patients' biographies, and he'd been astonished at how many had suffered abuse as children.  He thought Dr. Bonnar's estimate of 75 percent was credible, maybe even low." Rough Sleepers , written by Tracy Kidder, about Dr Jim O'Connell's career in bringing medicine to the streets of Boston, pages 71-72. Image: Canva

  Good morning! Well, August has just flown by, hasn't it? It's crazy how fast the summer disappears once we hit July 4th. At Stone Soup Kitchen, the Board and I are getting ready for our semi-annual meeting in September. That means we'll be taking a broad look at all the things we've been involved in and have accomplished as well as the things that didn't go according to plan. We'll be looking at what we'd like to work on this fall and winter, and we'll be taking into account all the feedback we've received from our donors, guests, and volunteers. If you have anything you'd like to share with us, including activities you think we should be investing in (or not investing in), please feel free to drop me a response email over the next two weeks. We had an awesome visit on Friday from Carla, Lora, Sarah, and Eric, who came to deliver SEVEN BINS of gift bags, containing hygiene products, snacks, and entertainment items. We were able to g...

  Stone Soup Kitchen opens at 4 pm on Friday evenings at Living Water Fellowship in Devenscrest, Ayer. It is open to ANYone who wants a good hot meal and some company...no need to bring anything but yourself unless you want to! From 4 to 5, we are open for those who want to get together and socialize, do puzzles, or play games in the dining room. The potluck dinner is available from 5 to 5:30 followed by dessert and our support group. The open support group meeting with Teri T runs from 5:30 to 6, if you'd like to stay for it after dinner. This week, the potluck will be tacos with various sides, dessert, juice, and some extra snacks to take home for the weekend. Our food pantry is open every Saturday morning from 10 to noon, same location. If you need food, or KNOW someone who needs food...please come pick some up. Email any questions to stonesoupkitchenministries @ gmail . com (remove the spaces) or leave us a private comment here. ANYone is welcome...no questions ask...

  VS At Stone Soup Kitchen's food pantry, we offer the following:  Regular pantry bags with some whole foods and some processed foods Healthier alternative pantry bags with ingredients rather than processed foods Meal-starter bags with ingredients and recipes Fresh produce, year-round Classes and workshops on health, nutrition, and cooking The problem: Guess what never gets left behind in our returns box?  The processed foods Very few people want the healthier alternative bags Only those same few people want the meal-starter bags Not everyone takes the fresh produce The classes and workshops are fun, but don't seem to lead to lasting change The reasons: Differences in cost and availability of healthy foods Inexperience with whole foods and cooking them Addiction to the ultra-processed foods' additives Solutions? Realize that our mission is primarily hunger, not nutrition or health, although these are extremely important to continue working on Continue to make the healthie...

I missed you all last week! Mike and I had a wonderful visit with our daughter Dani out in Portland Oregon. She's lived there for 12 years now, and it's been probably 5 years since we've been able to make the trip. While we were there, we celebrated our 39th anniversary. Came home jet-lagged and very happy. I was especially happy to find that the crew had done a perfect job running everything while I was gone. Not surprised in the least, but really happy! I don't know what I'd do without all of you, and your support, but last week especially these friends who stepped up and kept everything going smoothly: Melanie, Sonja, Tina, Lindsey, Kyndra, Rich, Alison, Kathleen, Becky, Rick, Debbie, Donna, Cyndi, Pauline, and Nicole. Were there more? Of course, and my deepest apologies to anyone I left out. Can I still claim jet-lag?? :-) Events that happened in the last two weeks:  Mich and Jacque came from National Grid to help us sort and pack. Jacque also brought...

  Stone Soup Kitchen opens at 4 pm on Friday evenings at Living Water Fellowship in Devenscrest, Ayer. It is open to ANYone who wants a good hot meal and some company...no need to bring anything but yourself unless you want to! From 4 to 5, we are open for those who want to get together and socialize, do puzzles, or play games in the dining room. The potluck dinner is available from 5 to 5:30 followed by dessert and our support group. The open support group meeting with Teri T runs from 5:30 to 6, if you'd like to stay for it after dinner. This week, the potluck will French onion chicken with various sides, dessert, juice, and some extra snacks to take home for the weekend. Our food pantry is open every Saturday morning from 10 to noon, same location. If you need food, or KNOW someone who needs food...please come pick some up. Email any questions to stonesoupkitchenministries @ gmail . com (remove the spaces) or leave us a private message on our facebook page. ANYone i...

If 12 step isn't your jam, please reach out and find something that is.  You are too valuable to lose 💕 

Painting, coloring, and stitching this past Saturday at the Craft Gathering 💕Put it on your calendar now so that you don't miss the next one: Saturday, September 9 2023 from 10 to noon. Craft Gatherings are held in the Stone Soup Kitchen dining room, 41 Littleton Road, Ayer MA.  They are open to all, family-friendly, and there is never a fee!  Materials for projects are supplied, or you can bring your own project to work on if you prefer.  

  ABOUT HUNGER A poem about hunger Is not one of awe, not one of wonder This thing that grows Below, Inside Reflects, Of need Denied A painful thing to see A wretched thing to be In hunger ​A darkness Sharp, clawing at ones’ being The lungs, the heart Messing with the reasoning of the mind The hope The emptiness that rises To the throat Choking on water Offering appeasement to the belly Releasing unrelenting anguish In a language called despair The weariness that is telling The aching, the swelling The deadly devastation That stalks in starvation The extreme Muffled muted screams It cries, it sobs It whimpers in its’ call The distance The fierce, intense, insistence Of the sustenance one needs Shows Hunger is an enemy to us all Like the falling of darkness gives rise to gloom and doom Its’ darker and darker and darker and darker and…                                          © 20...

  Price Check , a beautiful short film by Bravingbird

  "This is what we do while we're waiting for the world to change." Quote by Dr Jim O'Connell in Tracy Kidder's book, Rough Sleepers , pg 107