January 26, 2026 newsletter

 

Good morning everyone! You are probably in the process of shoveling out, so please take good care of yourselves and take frequent breaks. We are fortunate that it isn't too heavy, but it certainly is DEEP!

I want to thank everyone who came out Saturday afternoon to join in our first Partners, Participants, and Allies meeting. You guys rocked it! We got so many good suggestions that it's going to be hard for our Board to choose just one or two. For those who couldn't make it, you are welcome to send me suggestions via email and I'll add them to the lists.

What we did was to consider how to best honor our motto, "Building a bigger and more inclusive table" and our official mission statement: "Stone Soup Kitchen is a relational food and community-building 501(c)3, which is community-funded. We work to alleviate food insecurity and hunger, while also bringing marginalized and lonely people together for food and friendship with other community members, helping them to form more relationships across the typical divides that keep people from socializing."

To that end, we considered five specific ways that we could potentially expand:

• Expand our mission to additional areas other than food
• Add more hours or days of service
• Partner with other organizations
• Replicate our model in other towns
• Expand our facilities or equipment

We had an additional sixth item, which was "Keep the money liquid and wait for the crash." This was not a joke. Economic indicators are volatile, but please rest assured that we will absolutely be keeping enough working capital in an accessible account. So, setting that one aside, would you take a few minutes and look at the above list? Do you have specific ideas pertinent to any or all of them? Which do you think are the most important? Please feel free to weigh in over the next few days.

Mike and I will be leaving tomorrow to go take care of his Mom for a week, so there will not be a letter next Monday. I'm hoping to share all of the ideas with you two Mondays from now. SSK will have a Board meeting in March to decide which idea(s) should be immediately implemented, and which we might save for the future. We're very excited, and we hope you are too!

If you want to make any donations this week, we can take drop-offs at the pantry (through the gray door next to the parking lot on Cambridge Street) on Wednesdays from 10 to noon, Fridays from 4 to 5, and Saturdays only from 9 to 10. Please do not leave food at the door outside of these hours. The bin is always available at Shop n' Save if those times don't suit: Please leave a note in the bag with your name so we know whom to thank! We are located at 21 Washington Street, Suite C, Ayer MA 01432

Keep fighting the good fight! The snow won't last forever...and Go Pats!