Greenfield’s Stone Soup Café director Kirsten Levitt honored with community builder award

GREENFIELD — While the Communities That Care Coalition has honored Stone Soup Café Executive Chef and Director Kirsten Levitt with its 2021 Mike Fritz Community Builder Award, Levitt sees the accolade as a team achievement.

“Honestly, I feel like it’s all of our award at the café,” she said. “It’s great that they’d chosen me, but they really chose what I do with the Stone Soup Café.”

The Communities That Care Coalition, an organization aimed at promoting the health and well-being of young people in Franklin County and the North Quabbin region, chose to honor Levitt because she “demonstrates vision and leadership in promoting the goals of the Communities That Care Coalition in the community,” according to Co-Coordinator Kat Allen.

Stone Soup Café has cemented itself as a county staple for providing Greenfield and surrounding communities with high-quality pay-what-you-can weekly meals on Saturdays in an effort to combat food insecurity.

Levitt said receiving the award, which is named after substance abuse prevention advocate Mike Fritz, was “extremely unexpected.”

“When they called me and said they’d chosen me for this award,” Levitt recalled, “I was flabbergasted and truly humbled.”

In a message to the rest of the coalition, Co-Coordinator Rachel Stoler celebrated Levitt for cultivating “not only a pay-what-you-can volunteer-staffed gourmet café, but also an incredibly vibrant community-building organization that creates a space where all are welcome to break bread together.”

“Kirsten is an absolute example of a fantastic community builder who brings her whole self to her work, and everything she does brings a stronger and more positive community,” Allen said.

To further honor Levitt, the Communities That Care Coalition themed its Feb. 3 meeting around cooking, presenting culinary-themed icebreakers and a “Communities That Care 101 Cooking Show” that showcased what the organization stands for.

Stoler said the award, annually bestowed “to a community member who embodies the values of the Communities That Care Coalition,” will be given to another community member after Levitt holds it for a year. Stoler invited Levitt to display it proudly wherever she sees fit until that time comes. Levitt, recognizing the award as a team achievement, said the café’s volunteers are deciding where to display it.

Levitt also remarked on the exceptional quality of people chosen as the award’s recipients over the years, many of whom she has known personally.

“I’m in such good company that I’m really blown away by it,” she said.

Despite the excitement and pride, Levitt said the Stone Soup Café will not operate any differently, having received such an accolade.

“It’ll be business as usual,” she said. “The café is always evolving and always striving to be a better version of ourselves than we were yesterday.”

Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-772-0261, ext. 261 or jmendoza@recorder.com.