Soup's On: The Mustard Seed Soup Kitchen is Making a Difference in St. Johnsbury

With the economy on the downside and people struggling to make ends meet, a little help is a welcome thing. Second-hand and clothing consignment stores are very busy in recent times with rapid product turnover. Connect With Kids Thrift Store on Eastern Avenue has grown by leaps and bounds but it is more than just a store. This February, it opens the third branch of their mission: the Mustard Seed Soup Kitchen.

Four years ago, a small group of individuals had two things in common: they attended the same St. Johnsbury church and all had a burden to help people in the St. Johnsbury area. They got together and decided to start a youth mentoring program to help children who needed a father figure or maternal influence in their lives ... kids who needed someone to hang out with, talk to and care.

Connect With Kids, Inc. was established as a Christian-based, nonprofit, 501(c)3 corporation run by a board of directors. They are Rick Knight, president; Gary Chamberlin, vice president; Chuck Perkins, secretary; Curt Geiger, treasurer; and Frank Rothe, executive director. To support the mentoring program, Connect With Kids opened the Thrift Store four years ago on Eastern Avenue with Rothe running the store. The thrift store appeals to everyone and is packed with clothes, books, accessories, and collectibles. The thrift store donates clothing and items to whoever needs it, i.e., fire victims, homeless individuals, destitutes, etc. They added used furniture, which has been so popular they had to rent a second space in the former pizzeria building next door to house the furniture store. The thrift store itself is overflowing in its present space, and in the near future they will have to find a larger space.

Connect With Kids, Inc. targets the “invisible poverty level” that exists in our own backyard. People are in need right here in Vermont, right in St. Johnsbury. Rothe said, “There’s the guy who lives in an apartment on a side street and only has a mattress and a chair for furniture. Or the single mom with six kids living in a trailer off Route 5 who needs help keeping clothes on growing kids. We wanted to help them. We want to make people aware of needs that are right in front of them.”“When we first opened the store, we didn’t know the dynamics of the town. But it turns out that our location is great because the majority of our customers walk here,” said Rothe. “In St. Johnsbury alone, there are 500 households without transportation.”

After three years of getting to know the needs of regular customers, Rothe said, he, board members, and store volunteers realized another need: meals. “We thought of a soup kitchen, a place for people to come in and get a hot meal.” There are meal sites at three community churches three days a week, and the board wondered what do those people do the rest of the week? The Mustard Seed Soup Kitchen concept was born. When the thrift store held a huge clothing giveaway in the old pizzeria building last year, Rothe said the board realized the potential of that space. A year ago they had the concept, and then the place, but there was a long road to travel before the soup kitchen could open.

In addition to being executive director, Rothe was commissioned as a missionary by the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Conference in 2008. It is through that affiliation that the soup kitchen came to fruition. The Southern Baptist Conference sends all-volunteer mission teams all over the United States to help with community and church construction projects and outreach. Connect With Kids applied for assistance with the soup kitchen project. The North Carolina Baptist Association is part of the Southern Baptist Conference and has worked in the area before. Rothe said, “The North Carolina division sends about 100 mission teams a year to Vermont.” In September, the first of three teams arrived at Eastern Avenue. While in Vermont, the teams stayed at the Barnet Presbyterian Church retreat. Rothe said, “They were unbelievable. Each team worked one week. Volunteers are retired contractors and carpenters and the average age was 72! They saved us a year of work!”

The teams brought tools, supplies, building materials, and equipment. At the worksite, they began gutting out the site. Thanks to the three teams, they completed the renovation phases from demolition to finish work. They transformed the dark, dingy rundown restaurant space to a bright, open dining hall and fully equipped kitchen.

The only work that Connect With Kids had to farm out were the plumbing and propane hookup to licensed Vermont professionals. Not only did they complete the renovation but they brought donations of large items as well. “The North Carolina teams showed up with not only building materials, but sinks, countertops, a large kitchen hood and chairs.” Rothe said one crew member made a personal mission of lighting the soup kitchen. He raised the funds and even pitched in his own money and donated $750 worth of fluorescent ceiling lights.

Area businesses were very generous and helped to make the soup kitchen happen. Locally, Wal-Mart donated $1,000; All-Around Rental donated staging and tools; Appalachian Supply, Aldrich Fabrication and Home Depot gave donations. Myer Container Service out of Burlington provided a 30- yard dumpster no charge during the renovation process that the teams filled twice. The large cookstove, the central component of the kitchen, was donated by Jessie Davidson and individuals donated tables and shelving. The Vermont Food Bank received grant money to help food shelves and meal sites, and Mustard Seed Soup Kitchen was given a large freezer. The soup kitchen is targeted to open this month. Rothe will be running the kitchen along with local volunteers. They plan on providing noontime meals on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Rothe said they would like to try being open in the mornings for coffee. The menu will include soups, stews, chowders, and casseroles. The board wanted to provide a one-pot meal with bread and dessert. It will be free of charge, but donations will be accepted.“We can hold 70 in here and we plan on serving the people, not setting up a buffet style.” They have a large dining room and a smaller eating area in the front that will be designated a family area. The soup kitchen space will also be used for the mentoring program. He envisions cooking projects, pizza parties and a good place to meet in the winter.

The food will come from Vermont Food Bank and local donations as well as support from the Thrift Store. Rothe said, “We are just here to help those people who need help.” The ministry is funded by people who want to see this effort work. They do have two main supporters, the New Beginnings Church in St. Johnsbury and Newbury Bible Church in Rothe’s hometown of Newbury. Connect With Kids has been able to help three tiers of demographics in the St. Johnsbury area: children, adults with families and elderly. The freezer is full and Rothe is testing soup and chowder recipes. Soon the dining hall will be full of people. That’s what they want to see. They have come a full circle: the mentoring project, the thrift store, and now the soup kitchen. Volunteers on community service programs or members of the
community help at the thrift store.

The thrift store funds the mentoring program to help area children. Volunteers and donors make the soup kitchen a reality. The soup kitchen will feed people during the week with the help of volunteers and donations. Needs are met. People are being helped. Connect With Kids is all about connecting with people in need and making a difference in Vermonters’ lives.

Connect With Kids Thrift Store is open Mondays 9 am to 4 pm; Tuesday-Friday 9 am to 5 pm; Saturdays 10 am to 2 pm.  Check out their Facebook page under Connect With Kids, Inc., St. Johnsbury, Vt.,  The Mustard Seed Soup Kitchen is scheduled to be open Tuesdays and Thursdays at noon. Call 802-748-9870 for more information.

Written by Michelle Arnosky Sherburne and published February 2010 in the North Star Monthly

You can read the original article at this link:

http://www.northstarmonthly.com/nspdf/coverfeb10.pdf