A Tale of Six Freezers

“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.‘’   (Ecclesiastes 4:9)

On Sunday, April 29, 2012, seven Christian friends opened the basement doors of Brookline Boulevard United Presbyterian Church to welcome neighbors to our first-ever Living Stones meal. We had been told to expect just a few people, but God sent nearly 40, all of whom we were able to feed with the relatively small amount of food donated by a single retirement facility.

Back then, the food we needed to feed 40 to 50 neighbors one Sunday a month was stored in two tiny freezers in volunteers’ basements. Today, we need six commercial freezers to hold the food donated by eight institutions and businesses. That food is used to feed some 350 neighbors three Sundays a month.  

For nearly 10 years, our freezers were housed in the basement of Beverly Heights Presbyterian Church, but it recently became necessary to find another location. The church needed the space for a growing education program, and our volunteers needed a place that was safer and easier to access; a place without stairs. Thanks to Southminster Presbyterian Church, we were able to move our freezers into the basement of their former manse, where we can pull into the driveway, load and unload our vehicles, and carry the heavy pans of frozen food directly in and out of the building with no stairs or time constraints.

Moving the 223 items of food currently stored in our freezers – and weighing a total of 920 pounds – was no small feat. After a herculean planning and recruiting effort by Sondra Furedy, our administrative lead and volunteer coordinator, the move was accomplished in five phases.

First, the new location had to be cleared out and painted. A team of six men with strong backs went to work removing unused equipment and debris from the space so that a team of Living Stones volunteers, along with a group from Burns and Wilcox, could come in and paint. When the last paint brush was put down and the floor swept, the room was ready to accommodate the freezers.



On Wednesday, May 24, a temporary cooling unit was brought in and hooked up to keep the food frozen during the actual moving process. The Ice Box, as the trailer is called, was parked just outside the new location, where it remained until all the food was transferred out of Beverly Heights and into Southminster.  

The “move-out team” met at 4:00 Thursday afternoon and began methodically collecting, tracking, and packing frozen pans and bags of food into volunteers’ cars for the 1.1 mile trip to the Ice Box. In just over one hour they had everything positioned in labeled rows, ready to be inventoried and carried into Southminster on Saturday. But first the freezers had to be moved.



At 8:30 Friday morning we got the call that the movers were on their way. First stop, Beverly Heights, where one chest and five upright freezers were loaded into a moving van and driven to Southminster. It wasn’t an easy move-in, but the freezers were working and ready to be refilled Saturday morning.



The “move-in team” arrived at Southminster at 9:00 a.m. the next day, got their assignments, and were quickly processing item after item of frozen food, some wearing winter gloves and carrying heavy pans, others logging in and weighing the pans, boxes, and bags. By 10:00 every item had been put back and its location noted to enable easy pickup when removing food to be transferred to the places we serve.  



The entire, rather unusual move was accomplished nearly flawlessly by a team of some 30 volunteers who willingly rolled up their sleeves and went to work for the Lord and those He has called us to serve. And given all the laughter, they had fun doing it! Our sincere thanks to everyone who gave selflessly of their time to accomplish one of the many behind-the-scenes jobs that enable Living Stones to continue providing food and fellowship to those who are blessed by what we do. If you would like to be a part of the Living Stones family of volunteers, please click here and Sondra will get back to you shortly.

Come to the Table

Second Sunday of every month

Brentwood Presbyterian Church

3725 Brownsville Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15227

Third Sunday of every month

North Way Christian Community Church

Corner of Espy Ave. & Potomac Ave.

Dormont, PA 15216

Across from Potomac Avenue T stop



Last Sunday of every month

Fairhaven United Methodist Church

2415 Saw Mill Run Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA 15234

To support the work we do, simply scan a code below or make a check payable to

Living Stones and mail it to

Living Stones, PO Box 13077, Pittsburgh, PA 15243

Thank you!

Living Stones fosters the cultivation of relationships with neighbors who join us for meals. As relationships develop and deepen, Living Stones volunteers come alongside those individuals and families to assist them in navigating the challenges in their lives and encourage them to find hope in Christ as they learn to trust Him.

"Won't you be my neighbor?"

Fred Rogers