At Shobi’s Table we take pride in the menus we create. Lately I’ve been particularly tickled about the sauces we’ve done for our sandwiches and the dressings we’ve had for our salads. Last week, when I told Taylor that we had apples, currants and sunflower seeds to top our salads, she whipped up a delightful Apple Maple Vinaigrette to complement it. The week before, she made a rich and vibrant purple vinaigrette with fresh blueberries. Two weeks ago we served a chicken and rice wrap made topped with a creamy citrus-y hot sauce – the hot sauce we blended in-house! From scratch and delicious, these menus spring up a well of emotions for me – pride, humility and joy. Pride – that we are serving quality meals that you could find at a nice restaurant. Humility – that we have the privilege of creating food that comes from a long line of others (farmers, distributors, grocery workers, etc.), and ultimately the Creator, Godself! (Neither Taylor nor I could take credit for those blueberries… that is divine inspiration!) And Joy – that we get to serve this food from God to anyone, without price! Joy that everyone who comes can have the dignity of eating a beautiful, delicious, nutritious meal. Dignity in having access to God’s feast. So, come – we might not always have milk or wine (see Isaiah 55), but we do get to live out the good news of a beautiful meal for anyone, without price.
– Deacon Kari Alice Olsen
5K-As-You-Can : May 22nd – Save the Date!
Get ready for the Shobi’s Table spring event – the 5K-As-You-Can! We’re inviting you to invite a friend you’ve already got, make a new friend, or even build a team, and get outside together to walk, run, ride, or however you like to move – for Shobi’s Table! We’re all about coming together around one table to eat delicious, nutritious food that feeds the body as well as the soul. Once you’ve all been fed, what better thing to do than to get those bodies outside to revel in God’s good creation and get to know one another even better.
The week of May 16-22, you are invited to do a 5K at your own pace, however you love to move best, wherever you are. You can walk, run, ride your bike, do cartwheels, skip, push someone in a wheelchair or a stroller. You could do 1K a day for 5 days! You can go fast or slow. If a 5K is too much for your body, consider driving to a place you can see a vista that goes out for at least 5K. This 5K-As-You-Can is accessible to everyone!
Wherever you do your 5K (from St Paul, Minnesota, Washington State, Tanzania or Cambodia!), take a picture and post it using the hashtags #5KAsYouCan and #ShobisTable.
On Saturday, May 22nd, those who are local to the St Paul area can gather (location TBD) for a pay-as-you-can lunch at the Shobi’s Table food truck, 5K routes available nearby. We’ll be there from 11am-2pm, so you can eat lunch before or after! We’ll have plenty of space to spread out.
Register here: 5K-As-You-Can Whether you walk by yourself, with a friend or a team, each participant must fill out a registration form (parents and guardians, you can fill one out for your kids). Registration fee is pay-as-you-can (so you decide how much you want to give!) Registration fees $25/person and up come with a Shobi’s Table t-shirt (see one here)
Let’s get outside together to build a deeper and broader community. Connecting to others and spreading the good news of a pay-as-you-can meal, we can ensure that Shobi’s Table will continue to join in God’s work – setting the table where all may be fed in body and soul.
Note from the Board
March greetings to friends and supporters of Shobi’s Table. In my mind, I think of March as the last month of Winter. I am a lover of Winter but the smell of Spring is always a hopeful sign for rebirth and new life. As I write from a town on the Columbia Gorge in Oregon where my son and family live, the crocus are appearing and it reminds me of new birth and hopefulness.
This is exactly what Shobi’s Table ministry has at its core, providing nutritious food alongside hospitality that nourishes life, giving a sense of hope. Winter can add an extra challenge for serving in the outdoors. And for some of our guests we serve, the challenges of the Winter months can be significant. As Kari shared in last month’s newsletter, the cold weather brought a halt to serving for a couple of weeks (though helped with some catching up!), There is always the concern for where people can get food and housing, particularly for our unsheltered neighbors. Last summer my church allowed some unsheltered folks to use our covered patio for several months to get out of the elements. It really brought home to me the lack of affordable housing and food right here in our community and around the state. Without these basic needs, our community suffers as a whole. It has been part of my faith journey to learn more about the challenges facing those with less economic resources and to volunteer where I can.
As a new board member, it has been humbling to join in the community of Shobi’s Table, gratefully serving within an organization whose mission it is to provide food to all. Many thanks to everyone who supports this ministry.
Wishes for a joyful Spring!
Ann Beane