Join Us in Volunteering on November 13th!

ACC’s Missions and Outreach invites you to join us in volunteering for Mt. Calvary Community Supper on Wednesday, November 13th. 

Community Supper offers a weekly healthy and delicious dinner in fellowship with anyone who wants to attend. There are a variety of volunteer jobs that we need to fill.

New to Community Supper?  There will be lots of people there to guide you.  Volunteer using the Sign-Up Genius by clicking the button below.

A Glimpse into Community Supper - A Visit in December of 2023

by Sharon Shaw

Last year on December 20th, I had the pleasure of visiting with the dedicated volunteers of the Community Supper Program. This special program, currently housed at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church, is the only Community Supper program in the Acton area.

Each Wednesday, the program fights food insecurity and social isolation by serving a multi-course sit-down meal to its guests. There have been over 55,000 meals served in its almost 12-year history ministering to the community. Each week there is a different meal with a salad course, entree, and dessert. Tables are set with tablecloths, decorations including fresh flowers, and silverware. Servers bring the guests their meals for a truly sit-down meal experience with conversation and companionship. There are no qualifications or restrictions on who may join the Community Supper, making it open to those in need without any complicated procedures to follow. All are welcome for Wednesday's supper. For those who need additional assistance with food insecurity during the week, donated pantry items are available to be taken home after the meal. These items ranged from shelf-stable basics to fresh loaves of bread. Acton Congregational Church joins many other faith-based organizations, community sponsors, and corporate donors in making the Community Supper Program successful through donations of funds, food, and supplies.

At the true heart of this incredible project though are the over 150 hard-working volunteers who bring their caring and skill together to create a comfortable, warm space where people can be safe and feel seen. The dining room is open to guests from 4:30 pm to 5:45 pm but the work starts long before then, with volunteers arriving by 1:00 pm to begin cooking, peeling, chopping, setting tables, decorating the dining room, packing pantry items, and putting together over 100 individual portions as well as to-go dinners for those guests who cannot journey outside their homes. The volunteers range from high school students to retirees, and everything in between! Their devotion and enthusiasm are inspiring! 

I started with the kitchen crew. They are responsible for cooking entrees, prepping vegetables, creating side dishes, and setting up sauces and condiments.   Not only do they plate individual portions for tableside service, they also package about 30% of the meals for delivery to those who cannot attend the Community Supper in-person. Another volunteer organization delivers the take-out meals.

Arriving around 2:45 pm, a group of new volunteers join in the preparations. For several years, the program has worked with the Acton-Boxborough school system to provide volunteering opportunities for students. The teenagers take the lead on setting the tables from placing tablecloths to laying out silverware and even accessorizing the tables with seasonal decorations. Alongside the teenagers are many adult volunteers who also help with the setup of the dining room. More volunteers set up mobile shelving units with generously donated pantry items from local sponsors and corporate donors. These shelves are situated so that the guests can collect additional supplies for the remainder of the week after dinner. 

The dining room at St. Calvary Lutheran Church was definitely busy on that Wednesday afternoon, but there are even more volunteers that perform tasks that take place behind the scenes. Tasks such as food shopping, menu creation, inventory, supply acquisition, fundraising, partnership development, liaising with faith-based and other local charitable organizations, and administration are but a few of the additional tasks that need to be performed to keep this program running efficiently and effectively. The tenacity of its volunteers is evident not only in the longevity and success of this program, but also in its adaptability. During the Covid-19 shutdowns, the Community Supper pivoted to providing drive-up delivery for the guests that depend on its resources. Incredibly, these hard-working volunteers made sure that not one Wednesday was missed during the entirety of the lockdowns.

You can find out more about Mt. Calvary Community Supper at their webpage at https://www.mtcalvaryacton.org/Community-Supper or their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CommunitySupperofActonMA.

Can't make it on November 13th?  Contact our Missions and Outreach committee at missions@actonc.org to find out how to volunteer on other Wednesdays!