Feeding Ministry to Wind Down

Sunday Soup & Sandwiches to Close at the End of October

After much prayer and consideration, the Episcopal Church of Saints James and Andrew has decided to wind down one of their feeding ministries, Sunday Soup & Sandwiches. This free take-away meal takes place every Sunday at 11:30 am and offers soup, sandwiches, fruit, granola bars, two Hershey kisses, and a beverage to guests who are greeted by name, as relationships have built between volunteers and guests. 

The meal began in March 2020 when another local meal on the town common made the difficult decision to shut down due to the pandemic. Saints James and Andrew felt they could offer a temporary program to fill the void until things re-opened. They imagined this would be for two weeks. Church leaders could hardly have guessed how long the pandemic would last, or how great the need for these meals would truly be. The program has grown steadily over the last five years, from a handful of guests in the first couple of weeks, to as many as 317 meals served on a recent Sunday. An average of 255 meals were served each week in 2024. 

The program has primarily been funded by one time grants, the parish’s budget, and a small but faithful group of donors composed of individuals, local faith communities and businesses.  Volunteers largely consist of parish members and members of other faith communities throughout Franklin County. Every six months, program leaders would meet to determine if they felt they could continue with the meal for another six months. During this conversation this past fall, it was clear core leaders would need to step back in the coming year. This change, combined with the increasing demand for meals, the parish’s limited capacity, concern for volunteer burnout, and the ongoing challenge of funding led volunteers to begin an intentional process of discerning whether it was time to conclude the meal. Program leaders explored alternative options before recommending the meal wrap up in 2025 to the larger group of volunteers and donors. The program leaders’ decision was affirmed by volunteers, donors, church leadership, and the entire parish at their January Annual Meeting. 

It is a bittersweet decision. The parish remains acutely aware of the increasing need for meals like Sunday Soup & Sandwiches. Yet volunteers also know they’ve made a fundamental difference in the quality of life for their neighbors here in Franklin County - particularly amongst those living rough.  

Coordinator Erica Burns said, “Helping our community for the last 5 years has been an extremely rewarding experience for all of us that have helped offer this service over the years. Getting to know our regular meal guests has been a pleasure for our team. Food insecurity is a huge issue in our area with prices skyrocketing in every aspect of our lives, and no one should have to go hungry. We are a small, but very dedicated team of volunteers, and are sad to see this program go with the need being so great. Unfortunately, we have become stretched to our limits, and hope that another group in our community can help feed our neighbors in our place. We look forward to serving our community this year, just as we have been since we started!"

The meals will continue as planned through the end of October. The parish is determined to get the word out so folks understand this meal will be coming to an end, and asks the community to help spread the word. It is the parish’s sincere hope that just as they once filled a gap, the larger community may find a way to come together and address what will be a new gap in the meal programs offered in Greenfield. 

The church will continue to offer Second Helpings, a free community meal offered each Monday at 4:30 p.m. in partnership with Deerfield Academy. This meal program will celebrate their 25th anniversary this spring. 

If you would like more information on this topic, please call Rev. Heather J. Blais at 413-773-3925 or [email protected]; or Erica Burns, Coordinator at 413-230-4458 or [email protected].