Ann Arbor - Mother's Kitchen

Contact: Priya Krishna
Email: ppkpondy@hotmail.com
Tel No.: 734-994-6441

Where: Staples Family Center, Ann Arbor.
When: Every saturday.

We are participating with a rehabilitation home, called The Staples Family Center, providing lunch for their residents every Saturday. Hot wholesome meals are lovingly prepared and served its residents. All are welcome. The home houses 20 - 40 people at a time - single adults and families.

Homeless people are admitted if they are above 18, and are drug and alcohol free. On being admitted, caseworkers help them find a job, and they are allowed to stay for 90 days. During that period, they have to commit to saving 85% of their salary, which they will use at the end of 90 days, towards down payment for an apartment.

Favorite Recipes:
» Sandwiches or Entrées from various cuisines of the world
» Dessert
» Fruit

The meals used to be mostly made at the ashram by 1 or 2 adults helped by 1 or 2 children and delivered to the home every Saturday by noon. The home has moved to a new, more spacious location and is now equipped with a commercial kitchen. They invited us to go over and cook hot meals and serve as well as join them for lunch

Our Story

The following quote from Amma is a constant reminder and inspiration:

Someone asked Amma, 'Why does God keep quiet when people are suffering so much? Can't he do something to take the suffering away?'

Amma answered, "But God has done something about it. He has created us, hoping that we will do something to help those who are suffering. We should think of those people. We should try to feel their suffering. We should try to put ourselves in their place. We tend to think only of our own problems. We do not care about the problems of others, nor do we feel any compassion. That is our biggest problem."

A recent story

The Michigan Satsang was totally hot to trot last night. We had a very special and unexpected "after-hours" party when a few devotees sat down to rehearse some bhajans, it turned into an all out dance party! Amma's love was surly felt by all.

We are having some totally positive experiences through our Mother's kitchen project, the Ann Arbor Satsang sponsors and cooks/ serves lunch to a facility that houses people for 90 days and helps them to arrange a budget for themselves to get an apartment. One family who lives there started coming to Satsang - a single mom from North Africa, She feels that Amma's grace is guiding her life now, and well she's downright fell in love as I'm sure you all know why. Her 6 year old son says" Mommy, I love Amma, and I love you."

Through her love and devotion another man that lives there has also started coming to Satsang and we asked to give us an inside view on how the Mother's Kitchen project is going, His reply was so loving and Grateful, that it brought tears to my eyes. Mostly he said "this is a place for people who don't have a home and here are people who are willing to give what little they have to help us." May we all have the benefit of knowing how wonderful it is to help others, incidentally, this man is already helping with whatever he can, around the ashram, and last week he even helped me move a piece of furniture up a flight of stairs.

-- A report by Mother's Ann Arbor children.

Video on Amma

Gujarat Video

AIMS Video