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WORK AT THE FRINGES OF SOCIETY: RISK LAUGHABLE IDEALISM

5/23/2014

4 Comments

 
In April, I was inspired by an example of work that bends the boundaries of our society towards justice. Ariel Pliskin is my close friend and the founder of Stone Soup, a pay-what-you-can cafe in Greenfield, Massachusetts. Stone Soup offers "a new model of hunger relief in which people of all socio-economic backgrounds are treated  as valuable members of a diverse and inclusive community." In other words, it's a restaurant where EVERYONE is welcome, no matter what money they do or don't have. Watch this 5-minute video to get a sense of the magic happening at Stone Soup. 
On my first visit to Stone Soup, I was intrigued to see 118 diverse people gathered to eat together at a place where the lines that normally divide us were just a bit blurrier than they were in the outside world. 

But what really stuck with me was the stories of healing. Before the meal began, I spoke separately to three men (names changed) who volunteer their time at the Stone Soup Cafe. 

I met Sean, a middle-aged, working class, brown-skinned man who told me that Saturdays at Stone Soup offers him peace and community among his life of chaos (his word). 
Picture
I met Jason, a young, working class, white-skinned man who told me of his struggles with bullying, lack of family support, addiction, and rehab. Jason said that Stone Soup was an opportunity to be a part of a community where people wanted to do good. In that respect, it was more therapeutic than any rehab program he had been a part of.   

Then I met Harold, a middle-class, white-skinned man who had been a chef in a high-volume restaurant kitchen for 10 years before burning out and leaving the industry that he had originally entered because of his love of cooking. Harold told me that here, at Stone Soup, he had been able to once again enter the kitchen he had avoided for so long after burning out. 

Three men, three stories of healing particular to that man's experience and scars. All found in the same place, a place of love, community, acceptance, and delicious food. 

Could a cafe like Stone Soup be a quiet, slow, and unstoppably powerful forging of a new American community for the 21st century? 

This poster (from the Haley House Cafe bathroom)
got me thinking...could there a place for something like the Stone Soup Cafe in Cambridge? 

I'm listening...

4 Comments
J
5/24/2014 12:57:51 am

Why Cambridge? If your talking about a city that needs help Cambridge is far from it, Cambridge is a City where you have alot of privileged people living not to far from each other .. The changes that are coming and happening in Cambridge are inevitable ... So why Cambridge? ... Don't limit yourself to only Cambridge ... Theirs other places, Dorchester for example .. That the population of poor to privileged isn't even as close as Cambridge ... As a city! Cambridge eludes a healthier sense of "prosperity" .... You have more places for entertainment, parks, buildings, the setup of Cambridge is a lot more comfortable the City it self gives off a different type of vibe ..

Reply
Abraham Lateiner
5/26/2014 01:30:05 pm

J, I agree with you that Cambridge has a lot of resources. Where I think we disagree is whether or not that means Cambridge needs help. The more wealth arrives in Cambridge, the wider the gap grows between the people who have money and those who don't. So unless we accept that Cambridge will become a city that only wealthy people can live in (which I do not!), then there is real work to do! I see a cafe like this as a way to get people together, help them see that we are ALL part of the same neighborhood, and that we all stand to benefit from knowing the extent of the different resources (financial, social, spiritual) that our community bears. But if I lived in Dorchester, I would be asking the same questions. Anywhere there are people living side-by-side yet not connecting on a level deeper than the weather or the Sox, I believe there's important work to be done.

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Gerlinde Hossain-Endl
5/26/2014 06:57:59 am

Abe, thanks for sharing this story. I love the idea of a cafe like this in Cambridge, or any town for that matter. Bringing people together in this way creates a lot of positive energy. My guess is that sustaining this effort is going to be the challenge. There are a number of 'homeless meals' opportunities in Cambridge, but I don't think people look at it as a way of getting together and sharing stories or meeting one another. It feels very isolated. People do regularly volunteer cooking and serving meals, but it's different from what I saw in the video.
I think it's key to keep the place small and at certain numbers, so people can meet. I really like the spiritual part of an opening and closing circle. It's important to feed to soul too, not just the body.

Reply
Abraham Lateiner
5/26/2014 01:28:02 pm

Gerlinde, thanks for reading! Yes, you nailed it on the head...there are a number of programs in Cambridge that provide food for families without much money. What the cafe would try to do is seek to feed people AND allow them the chance to connect with the wider community (not just other people who are financially struggling). Delicious food will be key...

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    Abe Lateiner

    If real change requires people to take risks, what would it mean for a straight, White, cisgender male, tall, thin, able-bodied, English-speaking US citizen with class privilege to take risks?

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