As I was baking cookies the other day during the blustery and torrential rain storm, I wondered when my love of cooking began. I don’t have the best memory, but there is one gift from Santa bestowed upon this then 7-year old, that is forever ingrained in my brain; The Suzy Homemaker Oven! Oh how I marveled over the mini cake boxes, and the teeny tiny cake pans. I donned one of mom’s aprons that she regularly wore over her house dress, and diligently stirred my cake exactly 200 times, following the package instructions exactly. Meanwhile, my dad “installed” my oven by screwing in two 100 watt light bulbs. I popped my very first chocolate cake into my new oven, plugged it in and waited an agonizingly long 30 minutes for it to bake. You couldn’t open it to check on things because of a safety feature that locked the oven once it was hot. When the door finally unlocked, I frosted my 3 inch diameter cake and proudly served my burnt to a crisp, hockey puck cake to one of my dad’s AA buddies. That sweet man praised my cooking skills, and somehow managed to eat every crusty, crunchy, smoky morsel.  

Chef Gina has a very special holiday dinner planned for you this Christmas, and I can promise there will be some perfectly baked treats for dessert!

May your holidays be filled with sweets, friends and family. Happy New Year from all of us at SKIP!

Donna

Eric is one of SKIP’s newer board members, having joined the board for the 2022-2023 season. He has volunteered at SKIP for 3 years and been a board member for 2 years. In addition to working several shifts per week at SKIP, he has recently been named Director of HR & Administration for SKIP and also works on the Operations team - both big jobs.

Eric has been visiting Provincetown for 40 years so is no stranger to the town. He and his husband, David, purchased a home here in 2016, and split their time between Boston and P'town until they could retire and move here full time. That finally happened in 2020, when Eric retired after being the principal administrator of a Boston law firm for 32 years.  

Eric has been busy in retirement! He also volunteers at the Center for Coastal Studies and for the Provincetown Conservation Trust. You may also have seen him working at Waters Edge Cinema and/or Garden Renovations Nursery these past few years. Eric is pretty passionate about gardening and spends the remainder of his free time forever exploring the streets, forests, dunes and beaches of our wonderfully scenic Provincetown.

Thanks to all of you who made SKIP's annual Souper Saturday fundraiser a success! Soup was donated by 32 restaurants and individuals, and 12 Provincetown businesses donated gift cards to our raffle! Of course, special acknowledgement goes out to our hosts at Tin Pan Alley, Paul Melanson and Jack Kelly! Our gratitude to the Seamen's Bank team who managed the cash sales. Our super volunteers were instrumental in making, delivering, and serving soup! Thanks also to Elaine Koss for her cookie sale benefit held at Provincetown Brewing Co. We love the community spirit of this town and appreciate your support!

Visit John Choly at The Canteen Holiday Market! He'll be there selling his prints to support SKIP this weekend and next; 12/22-23 and 12/29-31.

All prints sold at the market will also result in a 50% donation to SKIP! Visit Choly's website for more information:

www.cholyheartsandmoons.com

Give the gift of a nutritious meal for 200 people this holiday season! We all have a friend or family member that has everything, so why not sponsor a lunch at SKIP in their name? For a $500 donation, participants can cover the cost of one day's lunch for more than 200 people.

Co-sponsorship is available for a $250 donation. Sponsorships are acknowledged on the “sponsor board” at each lunch and in Facebook postings. 

Sponsorships or donations of any amount may be made online at www.skipfood.org/donate, or by sending a check to SKIP, PO Box 538, Provincetown, MA 02657. Because SKIP is a 501 © (3) non-profit, gifts are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

CROP SWAP. SKIP provides funds to stock this year-round dispenser of fresh produce at least once per week. You may take whatever fresh fruits and vegetables you need, free of charge. Crop Swap is located in the Ptown Library, 356 Commercial Street, to the left as you enter the front door. There is a refrigerator for perishable items and shelves with bins for non-perishables, such as potatoes and squash. The fresh produce goes fast so look for a posting on the Facebook Ptown Community Space page to know when produce is added and please bring your own bag. Anyone interested in volunteering or providing regular donations can email [email protected]

LIST OF FOOD RESOURCES. A list of the many places to get free food is maintained by SKIP. The list includes food pantries at the Provincetown United Methodist Church, the Council on Aging, Helping Our Women, the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House, and others. If you’re unable to receive food from these sources, feel free to contact SKIP by email, [email protected], or by phone at (508) 437-8331. Get the list of places to get free food at PROVINCETOWN FOOD RESOURCES or contact the SKIP office, contact info above. 

12/25 12:30 PM ----------------- Special Holiday Lunch

1/1 12:30 PM -------------------- Open New Year's Day!

1/16 10:30 - 11:45 -------------- Nurse at SKIP

1/30 10:30 - 11:45 -------------- Nurse at SKIP

GINA LARKIN, Executive Chef| PAULO SALVADOR, Office Coordinator

DIDIER CORALLO, Dishwasher/Utility Person

SKIP Office Hours: Monday - Friday, 10-2/Phone: 508.487.8331

If you'd like to contact the editor, please email us at [email protected].