by Barbara Dumont, Guest Contributor
The crowd favorite – meat loaf, mashed potatoes, veggies, salad and dessert – is on the menu for
the October 7th Community Lunch in Sterling. Come join us for a hot meal and good company!
Lunches will once again be offered to the community on the first Saturday of each month at First
Church in Sterling. No charge. A dinner-like meal served at 12 noon in the handicapped accessible
Parish Hall. ALL welcome – any age from any town.
“These lunches are more than the food. They provide an opportunity to be connected with other
people which is so needed in our world today,” said Joyce Mara, meal organizer and chief chef. “The
Community Lunches offer a welcoming place where folks can gather with friends, make new friends,
and enjoy a healthy, free meal. If we can make just one person’s day better, one person feel cared for
or one person feel hopeful, all our work is worth it.”
The Saturday Lunches began seven years ago, but during the Pandemic lockdown the focus shifted
to providing weekly free meals on a drive-by/pick-up basis to anyone in need – an effort named
Operation Food is Love. In-person meals returned last year. Options to sit at a distance or wear a
mask remain.
Might you be interested in volunteering? Tasks include making phone calls, shopping, setting up,
cooking at home or at the church, serving, delivering to homebound people, and cleaning up. Joyce
Mara continued: “This all takes many volunteers. So many give unselfishly of their time and talents.
But help is always needed. Our volunteers tell us they get as much or more than they give – and have
fun! One said: ‘I live in an embarrassment of abundance. This program helps to ground me and offers
one small way to give back to the world’.”
If you have questions or would like to volunteer, contact First Church (978-422-6657 or
sterlingoffice@gmail.com or Lunches Coordinator Gereda Burger (gdburger@comcast.net).