A Humbling Thing

Imagine my surprise when a friend told me we'd be on the cover of my local paper of record for feeding people. I was still shocked when I saw it this past Monday. Here's a glimpse...

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Hot Meals Kitchen feeding hungry from B&B, not church

Group finds way to keep making meals for those in need

By Betty Adams badams@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer


STIRRING THE POT: Craig Hickman, owner of Annabessacook Farm Bed & Breakfast, cooks a hot meal on Wednesdays for the benefit of dozens who formerly accessed a free lunch at St. Francis Xavier Church Hall. He ran in the most recent race to represent District 82 in the Legislature and served as secretary of the Hot Meals Kitchen board. Staff photo by Andy Molloy

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WINTHROP -- Open the kitchen door and take in the aroma. Barbecuing chicken, baking ham and roasting pork fill ovens and a grill.

Mushroom and herb stuffing and butternut squash bake in the oven. Mashed potatoes, leeks and curried collards simmer on the stove.

It's Wednesday, and the hot gourmet food is destined to feed hungry people in Winthrop and surrounding communities.

The savory symphony is the work of Craig Hickman, owner of Annabessacook Farm Bed & Breakfast, who cooks a hot meal on Wednesdays for the benefit of dozens who formerly accessed a free lunch at St. Francis Xavier Church Hall.

The arrangement was supposed to be temporary.

Then, this week, St. Michael Parish administrator the Rev. Francis Morin announced the Hot Meals Kitchen will no longer operate in St. Francis Xavier Hall.

Morin said earlier an inspection of the Hot Meals Kitchen program by the Diocesan Property Management Office, which manages the St. Francis Xavier church property, found the program lacked a board of directors, an up-to-date tax ID number and liability insurance.

In a cost-cutting move, the parish also sought rent from the kitchen.
"It was not an easy decision, but we asked the soup kitchen board to pay rent to the parish of $400 a month," Morin said.

On Monday, he withdrew that offer in a letter to Hot Meals Kitchen board chairman Robert Pelletier.

"It has been over a month since the original deadline ... to get all in order for the parish to consider permitting the reopening of the Kitchen at the parish site," Morin wrote. "Since this has not occurred and we are into the month of October and the board has resisted the issue of the payment of rent to the parish, I have finally decided that it would be best for the board to find a more appropriate site to continue its service."

Read the rest....

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