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May 22, 2026

St. Mark’s Turns Compassion Into Action Through Food, Soup, and Community Support

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St. Mark's also hosts the annual Empty Bowls dinner, a Talbot County Hunger Coalition event that serves hundreds of Talbot County residents each week. What began during COVID as a simple food pantry effort has grown into a weekly food distribution ministry, a supporting thrift shop, a soup ministry, and continued support for the annual Empty Bowls dinner. Together, these efforts help provide food, meals, and community care to neighbors across Talbot County.

Scott Claussen

At St. Mark’s Methodist Church in Easton, hunger relief is not treated as a side project. It has become a steady, practical ministry serving hundreds of people across Talbot County.

In an interview at St. Mark’s, Scott Clausen, Director of Worship and Music, explained that the church’s food ministry grew out of the uncertainty and need that became especially visible during COVID.

“When everything was shutting down and we knew there was a growing need, we were all worrying about one another and our neighbors,” Clausen said.

What began as a simple food pantry idea has developed into a larger food distribution ministry. According to Clausen, St. Mark’s now prepares approximately 400 to 420 bags of food each week. Those bags are distributed on Friday mornings at Brookletts Senior Center, where people can drive through and receive food.

The ministry, known as Fishes & Loaves, is also supported by the St. Mark’s Thrift Shop, located near Rails to Trails by the old train station. The thrift shop receives donated goods, sells them to the community, and uses the proceeds to help purchase food for the ministry.

“It is kind of a full cycle,” Clausen explained. “Things are donated to the thrift shop. The purchase of those items generates proceeds, and then those proceeds help buy the food that is put into the food bags we distribute.”

St. Mark’s hunger-relief work does not stop with the weekly food bags. The church also operates a soup ministry that serves approximately 120 to 140 meals every Tuesday. Those meals are delivered to places throughout Talbot County, including St. Mark’s Village, senior communities, the Neighborhood Service Center, and other locations.

Clausen said the soup ministry grew out of a desire to continue and strengthen food outreach that had previously been done in the community.

“One of our members said, ‘Let’s restart the soup ministry,’” he said.

The goal, he explained, is simple: help alleviate hunger in Talbot County.

St. Mark’s also hosts the annual Empty Bowls dinner, an event that raises money for Talbot County food pantries. Guests choose a donated bowl, enjoy soup provided by local restaurants, and learn more about hunger needs in the community. The bowls are donated by local artists, students, and community members, then fired and prepared for the event.

“It is a wonderful evening of camaraderie and support,” Clausen said.

Empty Bowls is usually held toward the end of February, with ticket sales typically beginning in mid-January.

Through its food distribution, thrift shop, soup ministry, and support of Empty Bowls, St. Mark’s has created a practical model of community service. Donations become thrift shop sales. Thrift shop sales become food. Food becomes meals, groceries, and relief for neighbors who need help.

It is a simple cycle, but a powerful one: receive, give, feed, and serve.