April 13, 2026 newsletter

 

Good morning! Have you noticed that there's more light every day? Even on days that are overcast, the extra light in the evenings helps my mood, for sure.

One thing that doesn't help my mood, though, is the latest assessment of food insecurity in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which I've linked to below. For as educated and wealthy as our state is, this is shameful. Up to 40% of Massachusetts households have experienced food insecurity over the past year, many due to the rising cost of living in general. In our county, Middlesex, it is up by 11%. That pretty much lines up with what we are seeing...new families (4 this past Saturday) and more working people. I have posted the TL;DR version on our blog, and the link to the full article is there too.
https://stonesoupkitchenministries.blogspot.com/2026/04/massachusetts-food-insecurity-is.html

Now for the good news...and we are thankful that there is almost always at least some good news to share! We have a new batch of students from The Groton School who are visiting with us on Friday evenings. They help us get set up for the pantry service on Saturday, visit with our other guests, and join us for dinner. They are a great group of young people, and their interest in service gives me hope for the future!

Other good news is that we are getting a new freezer. This is really exciting for us and will allow us to purchase and store more items when they are on sale. This purchase has been made possible by the grant that we were recently given by the Greater Lowell Community Foundation. We are so very grateful to them for supporting us over the years!

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One Small Thing
Our friend Mich wrote about her company: If we volunteer 25 hours to a 501c3 annually (outside normal volunteering which is on the clock), NGrid allows us to donate $500 to any charity (or multiple charities, totaling 100%.). I *love* that my company does this and I’m very proud to be part of the Stone Soup Kitchen family.
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If you can shop for us this week, we will gratefully take anything off of our complete pantry list, and we are particularly in need of small boxes of instant potatoes, hair conditioner, and large bottles of apple juice. Please email me if you need our full list or you want our QR code for online donations. 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 Ayer 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

I love you all! Thank you to all of you for your support.