Free Friday drive-through meal at Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church

This Friday, Aug. 25 at 5:30 p.m., community members are invited to stop by Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church (ORUUC) for a delicious free meal of Tuna Mac Salad, fresh fruit, and Lemon Bars. Drive through the parking lot to pick up a meal for yourself, your family, a neighbor, or friend. Meals and bags of non-perishable groceries will be distributed until 6:30 p.m., or until supplies run out.

This month’s meal will be the last drive-through meal, as Stone Soup returns to in-person dining Sept. 29. Beginning in September, meals and groceries will still be available to be picked up to go, but there will no longer be a drive-through option. Meals will be delivered to local senior housing residents as usual.

Stone Soup Leader Jen Stark said recently ORUUC has been building its volunteer team to get back to welcoming diners into the Social Hall. Making community connections, forming relationships among volunteers, and sharing meals together were among the goals of this Social Action Working Group at ORUUC when it approached the congregation in 2010 with the idea of Stone Soup. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, volunteers switched from serving meals inside, to handing out grocery cards, and then making and packing takeout meals.

This monthly meal, made possible through a partnership between ORUUC, the Jewish Congregation of Oak Ridge (JCOR), and Kroger Marketplace, will be celebrating 13 years in September.

ORUUC is located at 809 Oak Ridge Turnpike, near traffic light No. 2. Volunteers will be waiting at the loop near the church entrance to bring meals and groceries to your vehicle. All are welcome … always.

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Free Friday drive-through meal at Oak Ridge church