The Stewpot

The Stewpot Motto: "Feeding all who enter".

The Stewpot has been located on the second floor of the First Presbyterian Church in Little Rock since 1972. Stewpot served the first meal to 16 people at a cost of $.99 per meal in 1972. In 2017, it served over 45,000 meals at a cost of $2.75 per meal. There is one full time and one part-time paid employee and 125 volunteers a month from many churches throughout the city providing this service.

The Stewpot's primary missions

The primary mission is to Feed the Hungry -"Feed whoever walks through our doors". The Stewpot is open from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. Monday through Friday of each week providing a hot meal to the homeless, jobless, elderly, physically or mentally disabled and displaced families in the Greater Little Rock area. The Little Rock Stewpot has served over 1.5 million meals in the last 49 years.

Secondary Mission
The secondary mission is to Help Clothe the Needy. The purpose of the Clothes Closet is to distribute clothing and hygiene products to folks in need. The Clothes Closet is open every Tuesday from 12:00 to 1:00 pm to assist ladies and on Thursday from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. to help the men.  It is staffed completely by volunteers.  Carl, a member of the Church at Rock Creek, is the longest serving volunteer. Barbara came on board about eight years ago and is involved in assisting the women who come to Stewpot. Carl and Barbara sort through all of the items that are donated to the Clothes Closet. They are assisted by several volunteers who help distribute the clothing and hygiene products on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Stewpot Routine

Since the pandemic began, Stewpot has adapted to meet changing requirements necessary to ensure our diners receive great meals every day. Stewpot teams work from 9:00 – 11:00 daily to prepare food and fill sacks with a variety of both hot and cold food.  The sacks are then carried downstairs to be distributed by Stewpot employees. Additionally, coffee, water and a variety of other beverages are offered daily.

Volunteers from many churches, community groups and interested individuals from the area come in to help prepare food. Diners receive hot food at least 2-3 days a week served up in 12 oz.  lidded cups tucked inside sacks already laden with peanut butter sandwiches, chips, desserts and condiments.

At least 3-4 times monthly diners also have homemade desserts donated by teams and friends of Stewpot. Around several holidays this year we have had cookouts with volunteers grilling hotdogs & all the trimmings. Greeting diners face-to-face is always wonderful.
Our diners have continued to increase over the last two years, with the average being 125 daily.  If you are interested in volunteering, we certainly have openings available to suit your schedule.

To see a short video about the Little Rock Stewpot, click on Stewpot video below:

 

Stewpot Video

 

 

 

 

Some Photos from Stewpot