August 10, 2026 newsletter

 

A very good morning to all of you! We had an amazing weekend, and I sincerely hope you all did too.

To jump right into it, we received three full pickup trucks' worth of food yesterday as a result of the one day Fill-a-Cruiser event! The Ayer Police Department, the Shirley Police Department, and the Ayer/Shirley/Groton Rotary Club joined together, in cooperation with Ayer Shop n' Save, to hold the event in the broiling sun and high humidity. For three hours they stood out there and cheered on our donors. One truckload for each hour! I hope they felt it was worth it, because I can tell you for sure that the food collected will help to refill depleted shelves from which we pack our weekly pantry bags.

 
Once the trucks arrived at the pantry, it took a little less than one hour to unload, sort, and pack everything into boxes, ready to start being shelved on Wednesday. What a great day! Thank you so very very much to all of the volunteers on both ends of the operation

 

If you've been looking for ways to volunteer, we have two needs: We still have a couple of slots that have opened up for Saturday morning pantry volunteers, and we are also looking for Friday cooks. Email me back for all the details if you'd like to find out more about either of these.

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One Small Thing
Stone Soup Kitchen was blessed by the gift of beauty by the group "You've Been Flowered" on Wednesday. Please take a look at the attached picture...they sent us a load of beautiful local flowers arranged in recycled glass containers that we could use to decorate our dining room tables and then send home with delighted dinner guests! If you'd like to get involved, you can find them on facebook under that name, or through their website: https://sites.google.com/view/youvebeenflowered
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If you'd like to shop for us this week, we are still collecting personal hygiene supplies, including shampoo and conditioner, deodorants, razors, and toothpaste. We can take drop-offs at the pantry (through the gray door next to the parking lot on Cambridge Street) only 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 available to drop off SHELF-STABLE FOODS ONLY at Shop n' Save if those times don't suit, and of course during August, you can also drop off SHELF-STABLE FOODS ONLY at the Ayer Police Station. 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

Stop and smell the roses (or hydrangeas) this week...summer is fleeting, and I love you all!