It’s hard to believe that another SKIP season is drawing to a close. As Carol Burnett famously sang at the end of her old variety show, "seems we just get started, and before you know it...". Getting started this particular season was hardly, (to use a food metaphor) a piece of cake. Back in November, there was still a great deal of uncertainty about the pandemic and whether some new variant might prevent us from keeping our doors open. But, fortunately, with a nod or two to the new normal, the past few months have felt reassuringly like the old normal, when sharing lunch with neighbors at communal tables was what SKIP was all about. Resuming indoor operations and continuing to-go service would not have been possible without the women and men who are the backbone of SKIP: our board, staff and more than 100 volunteers!

SKIP’s mission is accomplished in large part because of its board of directors. Besides working smoothly as a team, each member conscientiously oversees his or her respective area of responsibility. Their diligence has been especially important against the backdrop of Covid. Special thanks go to SKIP’s Operations Chair Roger Secours. In addition to keeping SKIP supplied with much of what it needs to function, Roger set up and managed a remarkably efficient volunteer-staffing system, ensuring a full complement of workers daily. Not to be forgotten is the creator and editor of the newsletter you’re now reading, Donna Reardon. Besides keeping SKIP Scoop lively and informative, Donna chairs the board’s fundraising and IT committees.

Tops on our gratitude list is Executive Chef Gina Larkin. Setting a collaborative tone, Gina is tireless in preparing healthy and tasty meals for an ever-growing number of SKIP patrons. The soup kitchen now serves more than 150 meals daily Monday through Thursday and some 225 on Fridays, when extra meals are prepared for weekend consumption. Besides SKIP’s main offerings, Gina prepares meals to meet special diets, including vegetarian, vegan and even gluten-free options. 

I look forward to seeing you when SKIP reopens for its 31st season on Monday, November 7, 2022. We hope to once again serve you in our dining room, fulfilling our mission of providing a hearty meal along with a sense of community during the Outer Cape’s off-season.

Have a wonderful summer!

Phil

Although SKIP’s 30th season ends on Friday, April 29, we are providing you with a list of food resources available during our off-season. Printed copies of the list will be available in the dining room during our final week of service and posted on the bulletin board at the Provincetown United Methodist Church. If you’re unable to receive food from these sources, feel free to contact SKIP by email, skipfood@gmail.com, or by phone at 508-487-8331. We will do our best to aid anyone in need of food assistance while we’re closed, May through October.

As we close down and head into our off-season, we jump into fundraising mode. We’re excited to launch our "SKIP into Summer" Benefit Auction & Raffle later this month! Beginning May 19 you can bid on many valuable items donated by local businesses and other friends of SKIP. There are lots of cool items, like a grandiose Beach Bums Picnic Basket, Cape Air Tickets, a Provincetown Vacation Rental, and a Truro Vineyards Gift Basket.  We couldn't make this happen without the contributions from our wonderful donors!

TOP FIVE VOLUNTEERS: Jackie, Terry, Chris, Dana, Mary

As we wind up another season, we tallied up the number of hours our volunteers logged as of 4/25.  With 110 active volunteers this season, our cumulative hours of service was 4,556. The volunteer with the most hours, a whopping 233 hours is Jackie Fung! You know Jackie as our honorary Friday chef who has whipped up some amazing Asian dishes. Coming in a close second, working his first season at SKIP is Terry Cline! He volunteered 199 hours while on sabbatical! Terry is in Provincetown for only one year, and we are very grateful for his service. Long-time volunteers Chris Pula and Dana McCannel took 3rd and 4th, with board member Mary Ashley taking the fifth spot.

On the Honorable Mention list, with 100+ hours are: Wayne Powell, Stephen Conner, Roger Secours, Jane Kogan, Eric Cordes,  Phil Franchini, Rick May, and Roberta Annese!  

We want to give a big shout out to Rick May, our "souper" soup man who has been creating fabulous soups on Tuesdays and Thursdays this season.

SKIP thanks all of our dedicated volunteers for a tasty and successful season!

This month’s Volunteer Spotlight shines on Terry Cline. Raised in Oklahoma, Terry is a new volunteer to SKIP this year and managed to log the 2nd most hours of all our volunteers. Even in the first weeks, he was always finding out what needed to be done & getting it done before most of us even realized it. He retired 4 years ago and his partner Jack is still working. So Terry decided to spend this COVID year in Ptown. 

Terry was educated as a Child Clinical Psychologist. He had an internship and a Fellowship @ Boston Children's Hospital, and had several jobs in the Boston area following his work at Children’s. He was Clinical Director of the Cambridge Youth Guidance Center and chair of the Joint Hospital Board for the Cambridge Health Alliance, which included 2 hospitals & about 30 clinics. He and Jack lived in Cambridge for about 15 years in the 1980s and 1990s. They spent lots of time in Ptown during those summers, and their love of Ptown remains.

Because his parents & Jack’s parents were aging, they decided to move back to Oklahoma to be with and care for them. While in Oklahoma, he served as Commissioner of the State of Oklahoma Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse, headed the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in DC, and then spent a year in Baghdad as a Health Attaché through the US Embassy. In this job, he helped work with the Iraqi government to rebuild the healthcare system, which was decimated over the previous decades. He served as the Commissioner of Health for the State of Oklahoma for 8 years, and retired from there.

Terry found out about SKIP from some friends at St. Mary’s and also from a SKIP guest he met soon after moving here. The guest told him about good sources of books, the best places to enjoy the Ptown light and about SKIP. He has made good friends here and has met some really interesting people. Terry spent lots of time riding his bike this past summer, up to 31 miles every day in the National Seashore.

When asked about his impressions of SKIP, both from a new volunteer perspective and a new resident perspective, his answer was that SKIP is a great mission. He was impressed by the number of volunteers we use - 16 volunteers every day! - and that the organization of all of these people was really good. Terry’s favorite parts of his volunteer time were getting to know the guests and working with all the different volunteers. He sees SKIP as meeting a real need in the community and in his book Chef Gina gets 5 out of stars.  

Terry will be leaving Ptown at the end of June, when his rental is up. Then he is heading back home, looking forward to his favorite activities: traveling, walking, swimming, biking and reading. A future Ptown rental is not out of the question, maybe even a winter rental so that he can work at SKIP again.

Thank you Terry for spending your year in Ptown working with us at SKIP. We so appreciate all of your hard work and your company.

SKIP would like to announce that our Office Administrator, Hilary McHugh, will be leaving her position at the end of April when the SKIP season is over. We wish to thank Hilary for her service during her 5 years running the SKIP office. We will miss you, Hilary, and wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

As we wrap up another year at SKIP, we want to acknowledge Chequessett Chocolate owners Katherine Reed and Josiah Mayo for their delicious donations of ice cream and chocolates and to Lindsey Bryant for coordinating and dropping off the treats. Thank you all for sweetening our season! No surprise, but these were a big hit.

A quick thank you to the Town of Provincetown for donating some sweet treats after Town Meeting. Our guests & volunteers appreciate your kindness. Thanks for thinking of us.

Volunteer and artist Jane Kogan has a show this summer at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM) beginning May 27 through July 24. Jane did this life-size painting of Roger Skillings, an old friend who died a few years ago. He was the one who in 2013 put her up for a show at the PAAM. This painting, as well as a life-size one of herself, will be on display along with drawings, collages, etchings, and the semi-abstract painting featured in our March newsletter.

MAY 19 - JUNE 4:  SKIP INTO SUMMER Auction & Raffle Benefit

MAY 27 - JULY 24: Jane Kogan at the PAAM

NOW - NOVEMBER: Jane Kogan's “NEW YORK GIRL” on display at PMPM

www.skipfood.org/events

We are planning an article in a summer issue of the SCOOP about members of our SKIP family who are artists. If you are an artist with an upcoming show, are showing at a local gallery, have pieces at PAAM, etc. we would like to know about it! Please send your information to us at skipscoopeditor@gmail.com

HOMELESS PREVENTION COUNCIL

The Homeless Prevention Council has office hours in Provincetown from 10 - 2 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday at the Provincetown United Methodist Church. For more information, please refer to their website. www.hpccapecod.org/provincetown-community-support

CROP SWAP IS UP AND RUNNING

It is a program sponsored by the Ptown Health Department, the Ptown Public Library and SKIP. Crop Swap is Ptown’s source for fresh, uncut fruits and vegetables and is open year round. Anyone may donate fresh fruits and vegetables, and all are welcome to take what they need. All fruits and vegetables are free. Please bring your own bag.

Crop Swap is located in the Ptown Library, 356 Commercial Street, to the left as you enter the front doors. Hours are:

Mondays & Fridays: 10-4:30

Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Thursdays: 10 - 7:30

Saturdays & Sundays: 1 - 4:30

There is a refrigerator for perishable items and shelves with bins for non-perishables, such as potatoes and squash. Be sure to take advantage of this valuable resource. 

GINA LARKIN, Executive Chef| HILARY McHUGH, Office Coordinator |

DIDIER CORALLO, Dishwasher/Utility Person |