Soup To Go Ministry
Soup to Go is a longtime ministry at UCC. Two Saturdays each month, a small group of people gather in our kitchen, early in the morning, to make soup, chili, sandwiches, and brownies for the Woods Mullen homeless shelter in Boston. The volunteers make enough food to feed 75 hungry women! They then bring the food to the shelter, serve it to the women (along with an encouraging homemade card, made by UCC families), and spend time talking and playing Bingo. Soup to Go also sorts and packages donations of books, magazines, clothing, socks, travel soaps, and shampoos that have been donated to the shelter through basket in the Lobby at UCC.
How Can You Get Involved?
- Make encouraging cards that will be handed out with meals. There is a Soup to Go card station in the Lobby and in Fellowship Hall with supplies and a basket for completed cards.
- Volunteer to cook or serve a meal.
- Donate any of the items below in the bins in the Lobby:
- Magazines and books
- New socks and underwear
- Seasonal, gently used clean casual and business clothes
(Please note that Woods Mullen is a women’s shelter. But men’s clothes are accepted too and donated to Woods Mullen’s partner men’s shelter)
If you are interested in joining our team or have question, contact: Art Davies or Rich Frank.
Sign ups for Soup To Go -
Sign up below to cook or serve
Cooks - Please arrive at the church between 7 am - 7:30 am and we will wrap up as the servers leave for Boston about 9:45 am. We have tried and true recipes for awesome soup and chili, plenty of sandwiches to make, and cookies to bake. Many thanks to Dick Whelan for setting up our safe food program.
Servers - Please arrive at the church at 9:30 am and help finalize the food for transport. Once the cars are loaded at about 9:45 am we depart for Boston arriving at the Woods Mullen Shelter, 794 Mass Ave, about 10:30 am, and work with the staff to set up the kitchen. Lunch is served from 11 am - 12 pm and after a quick clean-up we will facilitate an activity until about 1 pm, returning to the church a little before 2 pm.
Children Volunteers - We welcome children volunteers to help cook who are at least 8 years old. Those 8 - 14 years old must have a parent volunteering with them. The first hour of cooking is mainly chopping onions, carrots and celery, browning meat and prepping the chicken for soup. From then on its full steam ahead to make and bag 12 loaves of sandwiches, final packing of the soup and chili, and clean-up to get the servers off to make it to the shelter in time for lunch at 11 am. Children enjoy the sandwich making process. Sometimes we are also baking cookies for dessert, but lately we had desserts donated by a local bakery. There may also be some sorting and bagging of sundry items and toiletries. Children love to help. The 8 year age limit is an estimate. We have had children as young as 7 help, who have patience during the first hour when there is not as much they can do (they enjoy hearing about the whats and whys of STG). And we have had young children who require so much attention that they pull help from the kitchen. You are the best judge of your child’s maturity to be helpful in the kitchen.
Those looking to serve at the shelter must be 18 years old or older. Boston Public Health increased the age for volunteers November 2016, Please contact Art Davies with any questions at AGDavies@sgh.com.
Please do not park in the bank parking lot as they are open for Saturday hours. Park on Main or Miller Streets.
Thank you everyone for your support!
Sign up below to cook or serve
Cooks - Please arrive at the church between 7 am - 7:30 am and we will wrap up as the servers leave for Boston about 9:45 am. We have tried and true recipes for awesome soup and chili, plenty of sandwiches to make, and cookies to bake. Many thanks to Dick Whelan for setting up our safe food program.
Servers - Please arrive at the church at 9:30 am and help finalize the food for transport. Once the cars are loaded at about 9:45 am we depart for Boston arriving at the Woods Mullen Shelter, 794 Mass Ave, about 10:30 am, and work with the staff to set up the kitchen. Lunch is served from 11 am - 12 pm and after a quick clean-up we will facilitate an activity until about 1 pm, returning to the church a little before 2 pm.
Children Volunteers - We welcome children volunteers to help cook who are at least 8 years old. Those 8 - 14 years old must have a parent volunteering with them. The first hour of cooking is mainly chopping onions, carrots and celery, browning meat and prepping the chicken for soup. From then on its full steam ahead to make and bag 12 loaves of sandwiches, final packing of the soup and chili, and clean-up to get the servers off to make it to the shelter in time for lunch at 11 am. Children enjoy the sandwich making process. Sometimes we are also baking cookies for dessert, but lately we had desserts donated by a local bakery. There may also be some sorting and bagging of sundry items and toiletries. Children love to help. The 8 year age limit is an estimate. We have had children as young as 7 help, who have patience during the first hour when there is not as much they can do (they enjoy hearing about the whats and whys of STG). And we have had young children who require so much attention that they pull help from the kitchen. You are the best judge of your child’s maturity to be helpful in the kitchen.
Those looking to serve at the shelter must be 18 years old or older. Boston Public Health increased the age for volunteers November 2016, Please contact Art Davies with any questions at AGDavies@sgh.com.
Please do not park in the bank parking lot as they are open for Saturday hours. Park on Main or Miller Streets.
Thank you everyone for your support!
