Stone Soup Kitchen Ministries

  Good morning! My thankfulness for the rain this morning made me extra aware of all the things I'm grateful for, so I thought I'd do a little pre-Thanksgiving thankfulness today! I'll start with the most recent act of kindness, by one of our business volunteers. Mich's company (the Ayer office of National Grid) allows employees to spend a few hours each month volunteering at a local charitable organization, and we are beyond blessed that they picked us. As if they don't already do enough, Mich recently did some office-type work for me which saved me countless hours. I am beyond grateful. This week, I am also especially thankful for the following people: People who pick up or shop for us, from grocery stores, the donation bins, the food bank, the farms, and the orchard The many individuals, churches, civic organizations, banks, schools, and businesses who run food drives, send volunteers, donate food and money, and support us emotionally as well as finan...

  PLEASE NOTE: the only entrance to dinner tonight will be through the lower door on Washington Street. Please park in the Newton Street lot and walk up to the first blue door. Stone Soup Kitchen opens at 4 pm on Friday evenings, located in Shepherd of the Valley Church on Washington Street in Ayer. 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 brown sugar + bacon chicken, various sides, dessert, juice, coffee, and some extra snacks to take home for the weekend. The funds for tonight's dinner have been provided by Holly and her Mom ❤ Our food pantry is open every Saturday morning from 10 to noo...

  Friday evenings at Stone Soup Kitchen are a special time! We’re looking for a few Friday cooks that are willing to cook and bring hot, delicious comfort foods and to participate in the potluck with the people we serve, helping us to create an atmosphere of encouragement. We place tremendous value on the contributions of our volunteers to help us assist all of the people who walk through our doors seeking company and support each week. Volunteers on our team play a crucial role in creating community, and we hope to find several (rotating) individuals looking to make a real impact on the community. (Note: cooks are reimbursed for meal costs!) Please PM for more details!

  Rain, beautiful rain! I guess the wind is stronger in some areas, but we seem to be just in the outermost bands of our first nor'easter of the season. I don't know about you, but I rushed outside to get all my perennial seeds planted in time to benefit from this. Hopefully in the spring, there will be some results! We had a fantastic weekend, and I hope you all did too. We met a new family and were able to help them with food and diapers for their beautiful 7 month old daughter. I don't know if you are all aware of this, but we have diapers from newborn size through size 4 (sometimes a few bigger ones), so if anyone in your sphere has babies, please let them know about it. We are also on the lookout for people who have been furloughed and need help. I contacted the reserve unit on Fort Devens to let them know about available aid and that we are open every Saturday. We are definitely worried about all of our friends who are being impacted by the shutdown. If y...

  PLEASE NOTE: the only entrance to dinner tonight will be through the lower door on Washington Street. Please park in the Newton Street lot and walk up to the first blue door. Stone Soup Kitchen opens at 4 pm on Friday evenings, located in Shepherd of the Valley Church on Washington Street in Ayer. 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 tacos, various sides, dessert, juice, coffee, 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 foo...

What an amazing “bonus” weekend we just had!  I hope all of you had time to get out and enjoy it.  I was really blessed this weekend by my friend Dan, who offered to work at the pantry in my place on Saturday so that I could go out to breakfast with my husband and some other friends (including Dan's wife Beth, lol) to celebrate Mike's retirement!  Normally Dan would have been out to breakfast with us, but he unselfishly gave that up to allow us to have the free time together.  I am very grateful.    We just have a couple of things to catch up on this week.  First, thank you to all of the people who have gone out of their way to drop off donations at Ayer Shop 'n Save, as well as thank our terrific volunteers, Becky and Rick, who pick it up each week.  Construction is continuing on our fire-damaged entrance, so it probably is still best to drop off there rather than end up with nails in your tires!  At least for one or two more weeks. ...

  PLEASE NOTE: the only entrance to dinner tonight is through the lower door on Washington Street. Please park in the Newton Street lot and walk up to the first blue door. Stone Soup Kitchen opens at 4 pm on Friday evenings, located in Shepherd of the Valley Church on Washington Street in Ayer. 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 pulled pork, various sides, dessert, juice, coffee, and some extra snacks to take home for the weekend. Our food pantry is open every Saturday morning from 10 to noon, ...

We went to visit with some of our favorite people yesterday!  Ever since 2011, the first Wednesday of October has been designated Coffee With a Cop day 💕