S.P.U.D Patrol...Asheville, North Carolina

Come and volunteer for these
2010 SPUD Patrol Dates!


July 24 ( Postponed until the 31st! ),
August 21, September 25, October 23,
November 20, December 18


We now have coordinators for a new S.P.U.D. Patrol in Asheville, North Carolina!
Chuck & Annette Hunner at 828-216-1422 or  hunner@charter.net

Location in Asheville is Ahope Center, 19 N, Ann Street...we will begin at 11:30 am

Thank you to the Asheville May, June, July 2010 VOLUNTEERS!!

Spud Patrol served spuds to all sorts of Devas in May, June and July, 2010. It's been really hot. But our spuds are still loved! In June, one fellow said, "You're world famous in Asheville! I hoped you'd be here today!" It's nice to be loved.
Here we are in May....
SPUD phto
This is Josh, Heather, Annette, and Ryan. Chuck is taking the picture.
No pictures from June, though it was even hotter! We started using the EZ-UP tent to shade us from the Sun.

Annette and I were the only ones able to serve in July. Ryan donated 20 potatoes.
We've been serving 70 to 110 potatoes each time Spudpatrol meets.
Saturday is a big day to feed hungry folks in Asheville. Something about the support of Nature brings out charitable organizations on Saturday around here!

Here we are on July 31st.
SPUD photo

We postponed Spud Patrol for a week in July because Bele Chere, the biggest street fair in the southeast USA was held in Asheville then. It was a real zoo, with lots of food every where. Four separate stages with music are at the cardinal points of downtown. Plenty of liquor gets sold that weekend. I have a bunch of friends who have lived here their whole lives. They tend to schedule their vacations so that they will be out of Asheville on Bele Chere weekend! :-) But, lots of people...about 350,000 visit and have a good time. Spud Patrol will meet in Asheville again on August 21st.

Best Regards from the Asheville Spud Patrol!!!

We are looking for many volunteers next month for SPUD Patrol in Asheville - see you there!

SPUD imageThe SPUD Count - About 150 potatoes served!

"May all be fed, may all be loved"


The Spud Patrol Mantras:
"May all be fed, may all be loved"
Join Jeffrey, Ev, Steve, Dixie, Kelly, Chuck and hundreds of others in
Serving Potatoes to Unrecognized Devas


Our on-site coordinators of Asheville's SPUD Patrol:

Chuck & Annette Hunner at 828-216-1422 or by email, hunner@charter.net


November 2009

Spudders on the job photo
Ryan Kurzcak, Annette Hunner, Lori Maerov during a lull in the action.


Chuck loading the cooler with spuds photo
Chuck loads the cooler. I was going to entitle it, Chuck-getting loaded, but that never looked this good! I used a pair of my old welding gloves to handle the 400 degree+ potatoes.

September 2009

SPUD Photo
SPUD Photo
SPUD Photo
SPUD Photo
SPUD photo

 


Some Previous Monthly SPUD Reports:

Thank you to the Asheville November 2009 VOLUNTEERS!!
December 5th brought snow and cold winds to our little mountain town. The snow didn't stick, just blew sideways making the wind feel more harsh. Annette stayed home to nurse her cold. Ryan and Laurie were off to Roy Davis' Center fo Spiritual Awareness in Georgia, USA, for some deep meditation. My streetwise friend, Eric, helped me hand out the spuds. I handed out about 50 potatoes at Ahope. Temps were in the low 30's Fº with 10 to 20 mph winds. Wind chill in the low 20's Fº. People still lined up in the cold for this delicious food! It was remarkable to see he cloud of steam blow out of the 'cooler' everytime we opened it to get a potato.

Some of our diners were well insulated, others not. One young guy had on a foot ball jersey and jeans. He was hopping stiffly from one foot to the other. He was very happy to receive his potatoes and ate them with great relish. Later, as I finished packing up to leave when Ahope closed, he came by. He squinted at me, smiled, then said, "You're Him! Thank you again." At around 12:10pm, I drove over to the DSS (Department of Social Services) parking lot south of downtown. A group of people begin serving full meals of grilled chicken, string beans, rolls, and drinks at 11 am each Saturday of the month. They are from some of the Christian Ministries around Asheville. I mentioned our spuds and they invited us to join them. They had 200 people in line last Labor Day! If we set up a little ways away from them, the length of the line will decrease and more spuds will be given out on the street. By the time I got there Saturday, almost everyone was fed. They were talking about packing up and going home. They said that turnout had been sparse because of the snow and wind. I took about 60 still wrapped spudolinos over to ABCCM (Asheville Buncombe County Christian Ministry Veterans Shelter). I leave our 'leftovers' with them including spuds, sour cream, butter, cheddar, and chives.

Was it cold in Vancouver?
Best Regards, Chuck

SPUD imageThe SPUD Count - About 150 potatoes served!

Thank you to the Asheville November 2009 VOLUNTEERS!!
We had a great time handing out about 81 potatoes. Four 'civilian' volunteers showed up and we received our usual enthusiastic help from the folks on the street. Our spot for sharing potatoes is on the south side of Ahope. The wall behind us is light colored. It raised the temperature to the low 80's where we were playing. See the picture. We've all got a mild sunburn today. . . pretty good for mid-November! The folks we fed were overflowing with gratitude. Thank yous from everyone and more 'Bless you's' than you hear in church! We filled them with potatoes and they filled us with gratitude. Pretty excellent trade if you ask us!

Great thanks this month go to Kim, Lori Maerov, Ryan Kurzcak, Linda Cammarata (from last month!), Annette, Chuck, Ahope and Frank Walters, Sandi Graham, and Jeffrey Armstrong.

I just googled 'ahope asheville'. Guess who is at the top of the listings? SPUDPATROL.COM! That's pretty cool considering we've only handed out potatoes there 3 times. And, strangely enough, Homeward Bound, the agency that sponsors Ahope, is listed below us! How's that for SEO for spudpatrol without mentioning the website of the Spudsters!!!

Love, Chuck and Annette
ps... The good news is that spud patrol didn't happen on Halloween last weekend.
The bad news is that Chuck didn't get to dress up as Mr. Potato Head.

SPUD imageThe SPUD Count - About 80 potatoes served!

Thank you to the Asheville September 2009 VOLUNTEERS!!
This Saturday was warm and a little humid, typical of late summer in the Appalachians. We shared about a hundred spuds and warmed a lot more hearts than that. Everywhere we went this last week we talked about Spud Patrol. More and more smiles appeared around us. We served our Devas behind Ahope, the Homeless Day Center in Asheville after we discovered a mixup in scheduling Pritchard Park. Everyone left with smiles on their faces and lots of potatoes in their tummies!

Next month we plan on using the Park! If it's cold then (Oct. 3rd) please remember to clean out your closets and bring a few warm goodies for the DUDS table! Special Thanks to: Frank Walters, Heather, Eric, Smokey, Allen, Robert, Payne, Christy, Dianne, Larry Sexton, Annette, Chuck, Jeffrey Armstrong and Sandi Graham.

SPUD imageThe SPUD Count - About 100 potatoes served!

Come and volunteer for these
2010 SPUD Patrol Dates!


July 24 ( Postponed until the 31st! ),
August 21, September 25, October 23,
November 20, December 18


"Family Feeding Family"

We're hoping this concept will spread around the world!
Pass it forward...

SPUD Postage Stamp
SPUD Patrol - Ashville
Fan Letters

Pleasing Saturn...
This past Saturday I participated in an event called Spud Patrol. Basically I got together with a couple of my astrology clients, students and friends here in Asheville and we distributed baked potatoes with all the fixins', save the bacon, to the homeless or transient people who found us. Why did we do this? One, to be nice and helpful to those who need it. Two, because the planet Saturn shows his grace to those who show their grace on the less fortunate, namely the homeless. (That's a traditional Vedic Remedy for Saturn.)

What did I discover through this practice? I found that my own problems are really insignificant. Sure your life seems tough when you don't have a yardstick to judge it by, but it was a very powerful experience to see the happiness and genuine grattitude from another person, just by giving them a baked potato with butter, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and salt and pepper. It made me realize the cliche, that its the simple things in life that make all the difference.

Many times, as I unwrapped the potatoes and sent them on down the line to be 'dressed up', my eyes started to fill with tears. As the new autumn sun shone down on us, and the air was clear and the pigeons descended on a chunk of potato that fell from a plate, life felt charged. A lot of the work I do for my business deals with helping folks manage miasmic existential issues in their life. And sure I donate blood or money to organizations, but actually getting outside and meeting serving others face to face- it is very powerful.

From now on, I think, at least one aspect of the advice I give will be to go give a steaming hot baked potato to a homeless person on a cold day, and maybe even throw in a pair of warm gloves. Maybe you could start a Spud Patrol in your town, or come join ours in Asheville! Do it to help someone with an empty belly. Do it for Saturn. Do it because it makes you feel good. For what ever reason you do it, its always a good thing to help out. Maybe it will rearrange some of your priorities as it did mine. We'll be doing this every Saturday nearest the moon going to full. Contact me if you'd like to learn more and I'll forward you on the organizer of this service.   ~ Ryan Kurczak

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Good Karma & Many Blessings,

Chuck & Annette