Sherrill Hogen

“I meet people I wouldn’t otherwise meet.”

Aside from volunteering every Friday at the Café, Sherrill is a retired social worker, a Smith College alumna, a long-time political activist, and a regular guest columnist for the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

Get to know more about Sherrill! Read on!

What’s your Stone Soup story?

I have been volunteering since 2020, right after the Pandemic hit us. I remember that before then I heard of the idea of feeding people a sit-down, full, healthy meal for a free will donation or for free. I celebrated the idea, but was not participating, partly because I don’t live nearby. I had been volunteering at the Ashfield food pantry until the pandemic shut it down briefly. That is when I sought out Stone Soup Cafe.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in the suburbs of NYC, then lived many years in New York, and moved to Franklin County in 1988.

What’s your favorite thing about volunteering?

Knowing I am part of a community that feeds everyone.

How has your relationship to Franklin County changed since you began volunteering?

I am meeting people I wouldn’t otherwise meet!

What do you enjoy doing when you are not volunteering at the Café?

I enjoyed watching the birds at my bird feeder until I had to bring it in to save the bear from coming too close. Now I enjoy the daffodils!

I also enjoy seeing more and more people at the standouts for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza! A lot of my time is spent reading about the genocide in Gaza and the ethnic cleansing in the West Bank, where I have friends.