I think I'm getting the hang of this thanks to good friends, neighbors and you. I've been baking the Village Bread way for a few weeks now and I'm getting into a rhythm. I'm baking about 12 loaves every Tuesday. Which makes me smile to myself. My last name means 12 (well, to be technical, my last name means ten and two, but...). I feel like the orders for 6 loaves of bread, doubled to 12, is like a little wink from the Universe that I'm on the right track. I love making those little connections, finding those small secret messages that encourage me on. My faith in humanity gets restored too in each of the moments when I remember to notice. I realized when I started this site that I didn't necessarily explain or describe where the donated loaves of bread were going. I think on some level I purposely avoided naming the places I was donating bread. I did it with a piece of my heart that is protective of the recipients. Since "going live" with the website I have received quite a few orders for bread from lots of different people. And not once have I been asked who the recipients of the donated sister-loaves are for. That spoke volumes to me.
So I will tell you now that the recipients of the bread are two places special to me. One is the Friday Cafe run by First Church in Cambridge. It is, according to them, "a neighborhood gathering place where housed and unhoused neighbors can mingle and get acquainted in a low-key, judgment-free setting. The Café features hot coffee, nourishing food, music, art materials, and a community library." They offer warmth, comfort and sustenance with much love and genuine compassion. And last Friday they had close to 300 come to gather.
The other place I donate is a residential program through Catholic Charities that serves families where at least one parent is in recovery. They offer programming and a variety of therapeutic services to help families get back on track and back on their feet. Addiction affects far too many in our communities and not enough is done to treat those struggling.
Both places offer compassionate assistance, dignity and respect as well as restorative nurturing and care that is filled with love. Both places know it takes a village.