August 2023 Newsletter From the Director Introducing Eric, Community Engagement Manager From Scratch 2023 Save the Date!  Volunteer Opportunities  Book Shobi’s to Cater Your Fall Event Summer Serving Schedule

Dear Friends of Shobi’s Table,  This past Sunday I got to preach at Galilee on the litany of parables that begins “the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed,” and this coming week I get to preach on the feeding of the 5000.  To sum up my seed sermon, I said that it isn’t about how big you can get in numbers, but about what God can do with even the smallest thing.  Looking ahead to the 5000, I laughed to myself, noting that I better remember this so I don’t end up preaching that it is actually about the numbers after all!  We do keep track of numbers here at Shobi’s Table – mostly how many meals we serve each day.  But, like I’ve said before, even though it’s great to be able to show you how we’ve grown in numbers, and to learn from patterns that the numbers can reveal, it is even more important to know the people those numbers represent.   A few weeks ago, we served a whopping 62 lunches at our Tuesday site at Christ on Capitol Hill.  We usually serve about 40 there, so even though we had to stretch and be creative, we didn’t run out until the very end of lunch!  We had a volunteer who went out walking the neighborhood streets inviting folks to the food truck, and just about everyone who he met came.  There were many new faces among our regular crew.  It was wonderful to see such a vibrant group of people eating lunch in the parking lot. Knowing some of the stories represented in the group, I knew that there was a great diversity of life experience (particularly economic and social) and that we are one of the rare places where they would have the opportunity to sit at the same table and enjoy the same food.  It was a beautiful day of small, powerful seeds and big possibilities!  We have beautiful things on the horizon at Shobi’s Table! I’m glad to announce that we’ve hired someone to fill both our Development Associate and Kitchen Assistant positions.  Daniele Maeder, one of our former Kitchen Managers, has agreed to come back to fill these roles on a long term interim basis while we work on some new staff positions for the future.  It will be great to have her back on the team starting September 1st!  With her help, we will also be able to start our fourth day at Rice and Larpenteur in September (look for our start date on social media and our next newsletter).  Last but not least, I hope you can join us for our first in-person From Scratch fundraiser on October 5th, 2023! Our fundraiser team is busy organizing and getting everything ready for this party to celebrate and support this growing and deepening community.  We hope to see you there! In Christ’s Peace,  Deacon Kari Alice

Hi, my name is Eric Gustafson and I came on staff at Shobi’s Table in June as the Community Engagement Manager. It is a role which so far has been as likely to find me evangelizing about Shobi’s Table at the grocery store checkout as to be chopping veggies, driving the truck, or washing dishes! I especially enjoy my time at our lunch sites visiting with regulars and with newcomers. I am grateful to be working with Shobi’s Table because it combines the elements of ministry that I believe are most important: care for the vulnerable, love for the neighbor and creative use of resources, all centered around a meal!I have spent most of my adult life in North Branch, MN, running our family tree nursery and garden center. I am transitioning out of that work into ministry, wrapping up my Masters of Divinity degree at Luther Seminary later this year. I have two twenty-something daughters in Minneapolis and I live in Roseville with my wife Katy. I enjoy hockey, sauna, Scrabble and building things out of discarded materials.I have enjoyed getting to know several of the regular volunteers and look forward to meeting those I have not. I would love to meet for coffee or to speak about Shobi’s Table for any group that is interested in learning more about our mission and about how you can get more involved. I look forward to hearing from you soon!Peace.Eric Gustafson community@shobistable.org 651-208-1473

Can you help us fill the August volunteer schedule? As we move into the last month of summer the Shobi’s Table staff would love to see our kitchen volunteer slots full to bursting! We are especially looking for kitchen help August 9th-18 to support our ministry while Kari, our director and kitchen manager, is out of town.  We hope to see you this month!

Kitchen Volunteer Sign UpTruck Volunteer Sign Up

Shobi’s Table CateringYou can help raise funds for Shobi’s Table by hiring us for your catering needs. Every meal you order pays not only for your meals, but also for another person’s lunch at the truck.  It’s a meal-for-meal match!  The same great meals, but brought to your event!Shobi’s Catering

Shobi’s Table is a pay-as-you-can mobile café in St Paul, MN.  We rely on your support financially, in volunteer hours, in sharing about us with a friend and neighbor, sharing lunch with us, and especially in prayer.