St. Peter’s Church is committed to community outreach and has been providing a free supper to the needy on Sunday evenings since the program began in October 1996.

Shaw’s Supermarket of Beverly donates out of date baked goods for use at the supper and for distribution to its guests. Food is purchased in bulk from a food service provider and delivered to the church every three months or as needed. The church provides a locked food room, dedicated to the SNS program, which contains storage shelves and a freezer for perishable items. Fresh produce and dairy products are usually purchased (as a donation) by the teams although the program provides for reimbursement if the team submits a request and a receipt for the purchase. Grants and donations are solicited to cover the cost of food and paper goods and the church budgets for a portion of these costs.

The SNS is staffed by 9 teams of people, with one person on each team designated as the team leader. The team leader is responsible for planning the menu and insuring that there are enough workers to prepare and serve the meal. Each leader has a key to the church and to the food room. Each team is on a regular rotation (for example the first Sunday of the even months) and the teams generally work out scheduling conflicts between themselves. The teams are made up of parishioners, members of the community and youth groups from several local churches. Team leaders are encouraged to train team members in preparation to become leaders as the need arises. Several volunteers pick up the donated backed goods from Shaw’s Market each week.

The coordinator of the program is responsible for recruiting workers, maintaining the schedule, obtaining funding, arranging back up coverage when there is a conflict that cannot be worked out between the teams and ordering food. One church Vestry member is specified as the contact for the program to keep the Rector and Vestry informed.

On Sunday evenings the teams generally report at 5 p.m. to set up tables, prepare food, set out trays with utensils and napkins and prepare and set out drinks. The doors are usually opened at 5:30 and coffee and cold drinks are served in the hall. At 6 p.m. the food is brought to the serving tables, the guests pick up a tray with utensils and are served the meal cafeteria style by the team. Seconds are given when all the guests are served and if there is still food remaining, “to go” packages are prepared for the guests to take. When there is till food left, it is taken to the River House shelter in Beverly. The guests are also encouraged to take ht left over donated baked goods which are left on a rack that inaccessible in the dining hall. The number of guests and the menu is recorded n a form kept in the SNS binder in the kitchen. At this wiring the number of guests averages 36 people with teams preparing for 50 each Sunday.

The team cleans up the kitchen, returns the tables and chairs to the storage area, takes the trash to the dumpster, checks the bathrooms to be sure there is no one there, turns off lights and leaves the building together and is asked not to provide transportation for guests for safety reasons.