Stone Soup Kitchen Ministries

  Good morning to all of you who have suffered through the icy snow and come out the other side! 40's and 50's this week, apparently, for most of us. Personally, I don't care nearly as much about the temperature as I do about the wind and the ice, but I know a lot of us are looking forward to more moderate temperatures. Have I told you recently that we have the BEST group of volunteers you could imagine? Late Friday night, I began to develop bronchitis, and by Saturday morning, there was no way that I was going to be able to be there for the full pantry session. I didn't need to be. With Tina in charge, Kim, Melanie, Ned, Lin, Elliot, Sue, and Debbie made sure that everyone got the food, smiles, coffee, and encouragement they needed. We had a LOT of help from students this past week too. Three Lawrence Academy students baked cookies for our pantry, and a 4th came over with frozen homemade lasagnas to share with our families. So, many thanks to Matt, Emma, ...

  Stone Soup Kitchen opens at 4 pm on Friday evenings, located at Shepherd of the Valley Church on Washington Street in Ayer (the sign says Federated Church). Please park in the Newton Street lot and walk up to the first blue door on Washington Street. Dinner 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 in the dining room. The potluck dinner is available from 5 to 5:30 followed by dessert and our open support group, which runs from 5:30 to 6, if you'd like to stay for it after dinner. This week, the potluck will feature meat loaf, 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. Come to the parking lot on Cambridge Street and follow the arrows. If you need food, or KNOW someone who needs food...please come pick some u...

  Good morning to all! I hope you all had enough books and snacks to see you through the nasty weekend. Mike decided to go out sledding in our front yard yesterday, and he needed some hot chocolate when he came back in. I was tempted to go with him, but I slipped on ice last week and tore up my knee, so that was off the table. I had enough books and snacks though! We have an exciting event this Wednesday: we're going to buy and deliver our first installment of pantry supplies for the communal kitchen at the migrant shelter. You may remember that we received a grant specifically to do this (thank you, Greater Lowell Community Foundation!). If you are interested in helping with this, please let me know...even if you can't go this Wednesday, there will be more opportunities in the coming months. I've got some other news to share with you, some good, some not so much. The good news is that we learned about our year end totals from Boston Area Gleaners, the folks ...

  Stone Soup Kitchen opens at 4 pm on Friday evenings, located at Shepherd of the Valley Church on Washington Street in Ayer (the sign says Federated Church). Please park in the Newton Street lot and walk up to the first blue door on Washington Street. Dinner 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 in the dining room. The potluck dinner is available from 5 to 5:30 followed by dessert and our open support group, which runs from 5:30 to 6, if you'd like to stay for it after dinner. This week, the potluck will feature bacon cheeseburger casserole, 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. Come to the parking lot on Cambridge Street and follow the arrows. If you need food, or KNOW someone who needs food...pleas...

  😍Thank you thank you thank you😍  to Sarah Pileeki, Carla Pileeki Fernandes, and the LCE (Leominster Center of Excellence) school! Our dinner and pantry guests will be thrilled to receive these fantastic care packages ❤️

  Good morning! Here I am this morning, after a rousing session at the gym, still trying to wipe all the sleep out of my eyes. I stayed up too late watching the Superbowl (or, as our daughter calls it, “that sportsy-ball thing you and Daddy like”). Not that the game went so late, but I couldn't settle down afterwards for quite a while. Mike and I met in Philadelphia when we were both in school. So I suppose you can guess which team has our hearts! We have a couple of things to catch everybody up on this week: Both the dinner and the pantry have been running very smoothly. Our new space is very well designed for our current programs, and even though it's been an adjustment, our team is learning to navigate the new workflow. We are especially happy to have already had a few new families find us, and also to have a few new people join our volunteer pool! Laurie S brought us large batches of homemade cookies on Saturday. The new families were touched. The “old” families were...

Stone Soup Kitchen opens at 4 pm on Friday evenings, located at Shepherd of the Valley Church on Washington Street in Ayer (the sign says Federated Church). Please park in the Newton Street lot and walk up to the first blue door on Washington Street. Dinner 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 in the dining room. The potluck dinner is available from 5 to 5:30 followed by dessert and our open support group, which runs from 5:30 to 6, if you'd like to stay for it after dinner. This week, the potluck will feature creamy lemon-parmesan chicken, 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. Come to the parking lot on Cambridge Street and follow the arrows. If you need food, or KNOW someone who needs food...please co...

  Fred Rogers, American hero: When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." If you have already read the prequel to this Monday letter, then you know that these times are chaotic and troubling for us at Stone Soup Kitchen, and not because of our move. The move went very smoothly, thanks to the outpouring of help from many of you. Our Friday night dinners continued with no pause, and after one week off, we were able to reopen the pantry this past Saturday. Thank you to everyone who helped with this undertaking, and thank you to Shepherd of the Valley, our new home! Back to Fred Rogers's quote. It has implications that go both ways. As a 100% volunteer non-profit, Stone Soup Kitchen has to look to you to find helpers, now more than ever. For you, if you are feeling overwhelmed or powerless, look for those who are helping, at whatever level, and join in wh...