A collection of writings, links and information about the joys, power and challenges of "sharing" and the gift-economy. Also contains articles we found funny or inspiring -- not necessarily related to "sharing".
Together We Grow tells the inspiring story of a thriving hub helping to build resilience into its local community by growing, sewing, repairing, sharing – you name it, Common Unity is doing it!
“This beautiful film is the perfect antidote to the cynical narrative that says people are inherently selfish... This film will melt your heart. Guaranteed.”
– Rob Hopkins, author; co-founder Transition Network
Too many of our communities, here and around the world, are facing housing crises, food insecurity, social isolation, and more. In addition, the multiple impacts of the Covid pandemic and climate change are current and ongoing. How can we most effectively confront these challenges, and help our communities thrive in an economic system that leaves many feeling trapped in poverty?
Founder Julia Milne and her team have created a completely replicable model for developing strong, connected, resilient communities – a model that could be put in place across thousands of communities in Aotearoa and millions of communities across the world. They’ve proven it can be done, this film was made to help them share the story.
The public book library of Corvallis (the closest city to where we live) is starting a seed-sharing library. Volunteers will also share basic gardening knowledge as well.
Here at the Sharing Gardens, we've been growing fruits and vegetables organically since 2009 and, with the exception of a few years when we ran a CSA to cover expenses (subscription-based weekly food boxes) we have given everything away for free (on average, 6,000 pounds/year).
In recent years there's been an up-welling of other groups making donations to Food charities in our area. These have come from other small-scale gardeners (besides us), surplus from Farmer's Markets, Gleaner groups, and contracts between the Pantries and farmers to grow staples such as potatoes and cabbage. There haven been many times in the last couple of years where there was
so much produce donated to the main Food Pantry we serve that it was hard to find room on the
tables for our offerings!
Not wanting our donations to go to waste, we have sought out other food charities who are still in need of our services. In 2022, the majority of our surplus - that which didn't go to feed the incredible volunteers who help make our unique model of community-garden a success - went to the Stone Soup Kitchen in Corvallis. We love sending them our food because they cook it into delicious meals that they provide free-of-charge to anyone in need...hundreds of meals a week! Here is an article that outlines their project. (Originally published in the Oregonian newspaper)
Rob
Kirby, 51, prepares for Stone Soup’s annual picnic at First Christian
Church on Aug. 2, 2022. Housed and unhoused neighbors, firefighters and
police officers are invited, but mostly Stone Soup’s unhoused diners
typically show up, Kirby said.Terah Bennett/High School Journalism Institute
By Terah Bennett and Suzan Nuri | High School Journalism Institute
After
Rob Kirby, 51, prepares a record-breaking 180 meals at Stone Soup
Corvallis, a soup kitchen, he says he feels accomplishment, but also an
acute sense of despair.
“Why
are the numbers so high?” he said. “Does the larger community of
Corvallis know how pressing this need is and that it’s just growing?”
Stone
Soup, the volunteer-run nonprofit where Kirby is a lead cook, has
experienced a nearly 40% increase in demand this year compared to this
time last year. The soup kitchen, which operates three locations out of
church kitchens and one drive thru, served a record 42,000 meals in
2021.
By the end of July 2022, the organization had served over 8,000 meals more than it had by that time last year.
Sara
Ingle, president of Stone Soup’s board of directors, attributed
increasing demand for meals to income inequality and high housing costs
in Corvallis, both of which she said were exacerbated by the COVID-19
pandemic.
Over a quarter of Corvallis residents live in poverty, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 estimates. Data
from the city show Corvallis is also Oregon’s most severely
rent-burdened community, with about 37% of residents spending over half
their income on rent.
Ingle, 75, joined Stone Soup six years ago and became its board president in 2019.
“It
hasn’t been at all what I expected, or anybody expected,” she said.
“I’ve changed a lot. Stone Soup has changed a lot. The world is
different.”
Stone
Soup volunteer Rob Kirby, 51, prepares food at the First Christian
Church kitchen for the soup kitchen's annual picnic Aug. 2, 2022.Terah Bennett/High School Journalism Institute
Stone
Soup, which is turning 40 this year, provides free meals to anyone at
its four meal sites. Each meal includes an entree, soup, a serving of
vegetables and fruit, and a dessert, along with a vegetarian option.
Ingredients for meals are provided by the Linn-Benton County Food Share,
as well as donations and purchases.
Over
300 volunteers were sent home in February 2020 as kitchens closed due
to COVID-19. Stone Soup offered catered to-go meals until reopening
after Thanksgiving that year.
Stone
Soup resumed serving their own diners and also began preparing meals
for the county to distribute to homeless encampments where inhabitants
were still quarantining. The organization continued serving a higher
number of meals as the pandemic progressed and opened a temporary
drive-thru site on Northwest Third Street. The drive-thru will close
Aug. 27 after running out of funding.
Meal
demand has surged while pandemic relief efforts have dissolved. Ingle
said she is concerned that the Third Street location closure will
further strain the organization, while the city clears homeless
encampments without providing “facilities and service they need to live
with dignity.”
“There
is no plan or intention on the part of the city, that I am aware of, to
improve life for those who are unsheltered,” Ingle said.
Stone
Soup’s bulk goods, including beans and mashed potatoes, stored inside
the St. Mary’s Catholic Church pantry on Aug. 3, 2022.Suzan Nuri/High School Journalism Institute
Benton County took steps
to address homelessness in 2021, including converting a former motel
into a shelter and providing emergency housing vouchers. A Corvallis
spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ingle
hopes to open a standalone location for Stone Soup, something the
organization attempted in 2018 but failed to accomplish due to community
opposition. She attributed the pushback to neighbors not wanting
homeless services near their own homes.
Ingle said community opposition and increasing meal demand will not deter Stone Soup from feeding people.
“We have flexed and bent and done everything we could during the pandemic and we will continue to do that,” she said.
Kirby agreed, but said he wasn’t sure how the organization would meet increasing demand.
Stone
Soup is so popular because of its “low-barrier” services, where no one
gets turned away, regardless of their behavior or circumstances, Kirby
said. Diners include college students, elderly residents and recipients
of federal food benefits. Most, however, are people experiencing
homelessness.
Volunteer
Marjorie McClellan, 65, said even with federal and local aid,
homelessness and food insecurity in Corvallis have worsened. McClellan
said she used to prepare 40 to 60 meals per shift with leftovers. She
now serves 120 meals per shift and consistently runs out of food.
Kirby
said Stone Soup will find a way to continue meeting the rising demand,
but more is required from the city, county and neighbors to address
underlying issues.
“Together
as a community, are we willing to do the hard work of addressing the
needs that are leading people to be hungry?” Kirby said. “These diners
aren’t some outside source, they aren’t people unlike any of the rest of
us. They’re just people who have a circumstance that has put them in
hungry situations.”
-- Terah Bennett, St. Mary’s Academy
-- Suzan Nuri, Beaverton Early College High School
This
story was produced by student reporters as part of the High School
Journalism Institute, an annual collaboration among The
Oregonian/OregonLive, Oregon State University and other Oregon media
organizations. For more information or to support the program, go to oregonlive.com/hsji.
Nipun Mehta is one of my heroes. He is a living example of the power of generosity. Here is his latest podcast on the topic of "A Deeper Thanksgiving". Enjoy, and be inspired!
As a small sampling of the conversation’s many gems, they touch on the blessings that occur when
we replace transactions with relationships. Nipun advocates for a
personal experimentation with generosity, knowing that if we listen
closely, we may discover wonderful changes happening within ourselves.
He explains how gratitude can be regenerative, and reminded us that it
emerges from the recognition that we are nestled in so many gifts that
we can never reciprocate. This knowledge invites us to pay forward what
we can never pay back.
I just love everything about this post from the Good News Network. Here is a woman who, in her time off, volunteers to help women, overwhelmed in their lives, by cleaning their homes for free. She also blogs about her experiences and shares tips on how to clean without using toxic chemicals. Her spirit of service, without initially seeking financial reward landed her a sponsorship from a company that makes cleaning products she approves of and she's now able to travel the world doing what she loves (yes, she loves cleaning) and inspiring others to follow in her path. Awesome!
