The next Stone Soup Ministry free community meal is scheduled for Friday at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church.

The menu includes homemade bean soup, cornbread, and cookies. Dine-in or take-out will be available from 5 to 6 p.m., a press release said.

The Stone Soup Ministry name is derived from the Stone Soup Fable, an old medieval tale in which a hungry stranger came upon a small village.

“Having no food, he put water and a few stones in a large pot to boil,” the press release said. “The villagers, who were suffering from a meager harvest, each contribute a bit of food, a carrot, a potato, etc. In the end, the stranger and the villagers sit down to the meal together. In modern times the story is usually told as a lesson in cooperation.”

The Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church is located at 1500 Oak Ridge Turnpike (traffic light number 11).

The Stone Soup Ministry meal is held the last Friday of every month at the same time in the Social Hall of the Church. For more information about the Oct. 26 meal, call the ORUUC office at (865) 483-6761.