For Michael, the cook at Mustard Seed Soup Kitchen in St. Johnsbury, cycles are a familiar thing. As a teen, he worked at a pizzeria in the same building that now houses Mustard Seed. His grandmother fed him “country cookin’” as a kid, and that’s a lot of what he serves at community meals. And, having been on the receiving end of help himself over the years, now he’s giving back by making sure his neighbors have a nourishing meal and a warm place to chat.
“I was given the opportunity [to manage Mustard Seed] for multiple reasons, but the biggest two are to help those that are in need and be able to identify with them, which I do,” Michael says after finishing a shift at the Soup Kitchen. “I had a pretty decent life, but I made a lot of poor choices in my thirties… March [marked] seven years that I’ve been sober and committed to Christ.”
“Many years ago, I used to come up [to Mustard Seed] and pray the meal in and take off. That was like ten, twelve years ago,” Michael says. Now, he’s employed by the organization that runs the meal site, which is a Foodbank partner. Michael says he’s grateful for the help he received from the people at Mustard Seed when he needed it, and he’s grateful for the opportunity to be helping neighbors in his community these days.
“I know what they’re going through. I know what the struggle is,” he says. “When I was down and out, I used to come here at least every other week.”
Now, he’s in the kitchen at least six days a week.
“I put a meal together twice a week. I do a meal on Tuesday and Thursday. On Friday, it’s just sandwiches and soup…I feed roughly 40–45 people on those two days, 20–25 on Friday.”
Those are the meal days, but Mustard Seed is open six days a week, and they always have sandwiches, snacks, and hot coffee available for folks who stop in to rest their legs, warm up, or just say hi. On meal days, Michael says he usually serves the country cookin’ he learned from his grandmother when he was a kid
“Country food, I basically do casseroles. Chicken, veggies, gravy, put it all in one pan. Looks decent, tastes great. That’s country cookin’. Rib-sticking. I hear ‘it’s rib-sticking’ a lot.”
The goal, Michael says, is to be open seven days a week. That seventh day would fill a critical gap in the Northeast Kingdom city because, according to Michael, there are limited community meal offerings in St. J each week.
“If this closed, it would definitely hurt the people without a roof over their head and the ones who are down and out.”
Thanks to your help and that of other community members, Michael and Mustard Seed are putting hearty, nourishing meals on the plates of neighbors experiencing hunger in Caledonia County.
“Most of what I get here is donations; [there’s food from Vermont] Foodbank…there are a couple of farms that swing by like every other month, and just people’s generosity,” Michael says about the ingredients he uses to keep a steady stream of people in St. J fed. “It’s important to help your neighbor, even if you don’t agree with your neighbor. It’s important to donate, volunteer, and if you can’t be hands-on, there are other ways to support.”
As for Michael, the self-described “hands-on guy” at Mustard Seed, he’s got plenty more country cookin’ to share, and plenty of heart, faith, and goodwill to keep him going for a good long while.
“I can tell you this much, if I was to come into a lot of money, I’m not giving this up right away…. I do believe this is slowly making the difference.”
The 2026 Legislative Session, and second and final year of the 2025-2026 biennium, came to a close last Friday, May 29. There were a lot of ups, some downs, and many bills passed just before the deadline. We saw an increased awareness of food security, with some surprising champions stepping forward!
“Summer often is one of the hungriest times of the year for families with school-age children.” This is the opening line of a new national report on summer meals published by the Food & Research Action Center (FRAC).
Bob and Barb are Vermont farmers with a passion for growing and sharing one staple, nutrient-dense crop with their community: potatoes. They also partner with Vermont Foodbank to make sure their local potatoes are available to neighbors experiencing hunger.
