Chili Brothers ‘Feed the People’ at Swamp Yankee Soirée

"Welcome, sisters and brothers. Those present, and those in spirit who have gone before us.

Blessed and gracious creator, we give thanks. 

Bless this opportunity to come together as community and family. Humans need humans.

Bless the food and drink that nourishes and makes us smile. 

Bless the loving spirit in all who prepare and serve.

Bless the musicians who make our feet tap and our bodies move. 

May we all be blessed by all that is good, fair, and beautiful. And peaceful.

With love and joy and peace. Amen.”

-Tony Armelin, saying grace at the 4th Annual Swamp Yankee Soiree

If there is one Stafford story I feel truly remiss in taking too long to tell, it’s this one. 

On November 1, 2025, the Italian Benefit Society was filled to capacity with people who wanted good food, good music, and good vibes for an event that always serves to remind me why Stafford is special.

Four years ago, The Chili Brothers Food Company Traveling Medicine Show – a Stafford-based company that has long worked the regional music festival circuit – brought its authentic Cajun cuisine, party-on spirit, and mission to “feed the people” to town in the form of The Swamp Yankee Soirée. It was such a hit – the Chili Brothers have sold out of tickets every year – that they decided to keep doing it. The Soirée attracts fans of Chili Brothers’ food and River City Slim & the Zydeco Hogs’ music from all over New England, but the community spirit of Stafford is always on full display. 

Pictures are a combination of images from The Swamp Yankee Soiree and the Chili Brothers Food Company's life on the road. Some (the really good ones) are taken by JMS Art & Photo.

Whether walking the food line – getting your heaping helpings of jambalaya, beans, cornbread, chicken, shrimp, and crawfish – or just mingling in the crowd, you’re bound to run into a volunteer that you recognize. That’s because Chili Brothers is run by the friends and family of the late Avery Schold, a Staffordite who bought the company from its founders shortly before his passing. (This is a story all its own, and you can, and should, read it here.) Today, the Chili Brothers team includes Avery's parents, Maury and Yvonne Schold, and Amber Wakley-Whaley, who is better known around Stafford as the Director of Grants and Community Development. But the community involvement doesn’t stop there.

According to Wakley-Whaley, approximately 25 volunteers help bring the Soirée to life. “They handle every aspect of the event — planning, ticket sales, setup, food prep, cooking, serving, cleanup, and general event support,” she says. From kids under 10 to adults well into their 70s, “they all come together for the evening. The Soirée is truly a collective effort — an energetic blend of Stafford residents, festival friends, and longtime Chili Brothers customers eager to get their Cajun food fix outside of the summer season.”

Designed as a fundraiser for SafeNet Ministries – but also as a tribute to Avery, who was the originator of the “feed the people” motto – the soiree fell on November 1 this year, a day when millions of Americans were scheduled to see their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) delayed. So, the “feed the people” mission seemed especially poignant. 

Each year, Soirée proceeds directly benefit Safe Net Food Cupboard, typically totaling between $1,200 and $1,500. This year, when attendees handed in their tickets, they received $5 back. They were urged to put it in one of three donation buckets: SafeNet Ministries, Flo’s Friendship Kitchen, or Stafford Elementary School, to help pay for lunches for students who can’t afford them. But when Maury Schold got up to speak before dinner began, he also told those in attendance, “If you need the $5, keep it.” 

Beyond the Soirée, Chili Brothers donates roughly 75% of its annual profits to local charities — most focused on addressing food insecurity — as well as to organizations supporting rare disorders and to Stafford families facing financial hardship due to severe medical crises.

This year, before the music began, Wakley-Whaley climbed on stage and announced that each donation bucket had somewhere around $300 and $ 400 in it, but the Chili Brothers rounded each one up to $1,000. Earlier in the night, my husband put a little extra in the donation buckets – as I’m sure many did – and when I went to the store on Sunday, I bought a little extra and dropped it off at the food cabinet by the police station on my way home. The Soirée is like that – a good reminder to those of us with plenty to give a little extra to those without.   

A memorial to Avery Schold at the Swamp Yankee Soirée.

It’s tough times out there, but as Tony Armelin said as he read grace before the meal, “Humans need humans.” Building community feels essential right now, and the Chili Brothers are well-versed in doing just that. And it seems to me, as a relative newbie here, that this is all a testament to Avery, who lured Wakley-Whaley to Stafford after a meet-cute at The Rhythm & Roots Festival. She sums it up best: “The Soirée isn’t about any one person’s journey — it’s about the collective spirit of the people who show up year after year to celebrate Avery, support one another, and feed the community in every sense of the word.”