THE LA SOUPE SCOUPE

December 2021

MESSAGE FROM SUZY

When I was a young girl, the week before Christmas tested my not so patient self. I absolutely loved getting up and opening our advent calendar (with little pictures, not chocolates). I have an older sister and a younger sister; we would rotate days. I would count, recount, and count again to see if I would be the lucky one to open the cherished December 24 door. It was the anticipation, the count down, the knowing…just one more day and I would be coming down the stairs to absolute magic. My French father would play an album,”60 French girls sing Christmas Carols”…no Bing Crosby or Frank Sinatra….we heard angelic voices singing “Il est nee le divine enfant”. Our Christmas tree was always a real Frazier fir whose scent permeated our home and  our stockings were filled with Graeter’s Chocolate Bells and a chocolate santa.

I feel much of the same anticipation going into this upcoming week. However, the anticipation is not for me. It is knowing that La Soupe is blessing so many hungry families with a “made with love” meal for their celebration. I was at the Walnut Hills free Market today, giving our meals, soupes, produce, bread to those in need. One woman was BEYOND thrilled….”my kids got what they wanted for Christmas…DINNER and DESSERT! They love your meatballs and I was just praying you would have them to make my kids Christmas”. When she saw the pie crust mix and cans of fruit filling to give away,  her eyes were big as saucers….”now they will smell the goodness and I can make this myself”. I don’t know who was happier, me or her? Seeing the joy, love, and appreciation was my blessing this year…and will carry me through the week and beyond. 

As La Soupe winds down for the year, we will be taking a week off to start the New Year fully recharged. Our team has worked tirelessly through the pandemic, making decisions as quickly as the protocols changed..never missing a beat. There were countless “pivots”(I hope to NEVER use that word in 2022), to simply keep people nutritiously fed through an unprecedented pandemic. Our education team taught over 700 kids and adults cooking..remote in the beginning..and now back in person. Today our Director of Education shared her hope for the team to TRIPLE that number in 2022. Our Rescue Transform Share team continues to reach every goal they have put in front of themselves as our processes become more refined.  It is hard to describe the feeling I get knowing I have the most dedicated team working together to improve the lives of the less fortunate. Our incredible volunteers, who have now become cherished friends, are equally as generous with their time and talents, La Soupe is the happiest, most positive work space, and you FEEL IT! And our donors…WOW just WOW. Thank you for believing in us and giving so generously. I have a little of that Christmas advent calendar anticipation every time the mail comes…and know that every dollar you donate will be spent mindfully.

I wish each and everyone a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah , or Happy Holiday but my personal belief aligns with  the words of Charles Dickens Tiny Tim, “GOD bless us every one"

— Suzy

AN UPDATE FROM DENNIS

Although I’ve been introduced to the La Soupe and Cincinnati communities in various ways over the past couple of months, it seems fitting for me to say hello in my own words.  

After being away from Cincinnati for the better part of 20 years, my family and I decided to return in order to be closer to our family.  And although I hadn’t had experience in the industry, I’d decided that I would like to work in craft beer here in Cincinnati with the idea of one day starting my own brewery.  When sharing this plan with a few friends in the craft arena, one person introduced me to a person that had moved to Cincinnati to start what would become Rhinegeist Brewery in Over the Rhine, and I was invited to become part of the startup that became one of the most successful craft breweries in U.S. history, starting and running the distribution network throughout Ohio, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.  Four years later I shifted into the role of Cultural Director with the brewery, working across all departments to help make the working life of our 250 employees as personally and professionally healthy and balanced as possible.  So to say that operations management and caring for staff are in my wheelhouse would be incredibly appropriate.  

Shifting my mindset to work in a food-related non-profit environment may seem like somewhat of a stretch, but I don’t think that it is.  During my time in New York, I worked for a non-profit organization that sent inner city kids to summer camp in northern New Jersey, and throughout my career I’ve always worked in some way in operations and managing teams of people.  

And for an extreme understatement, working with the incredible people involved with La Soupe has brought together nearly everything that I’ve professionally learned and cared about into one incredibly rewarding first two months of work.  

When interviewing for this position with Suzy, staff and our Board of Directors, I made it known that one of the most important things that I could think of in starting out in a role like this was to work alongside and learn every job so that I could empathize with, support and guide my co-workers as best I could.  And our staff immediately took me up on the offer, inviting me to spend days in their programs learning the ins and outs of most every role we have.  And although it’s definitely not enough to just spend one day in the life, it is enough to understand the high level of dedication and work our staff and volunteers put into feeding the food insecure. Then the second most important part of my job over the past two months has been to develop relationships with, and learn how to support La Soupe’s leadership.  This has been crucial on many levels, not the least of which has been learning as many details about La Soupe as possible and finding ways to hear, understand, strategize with and support all of our staff at all levels.  

And through it all, La Soupe has welcomed me and made me feel at home every day, which is all I could possibly ask for in a job.

— Dennis

NOURISH THE ‘NATI NEWS from EMMY

In La Soupe’s journey to bring food access and food equity to Cincinnati, we have discovered that special dietary needs are too often an afterthought in the charitable food system. The Counter, a news publication that focuses on the American food system, published a great article about dietary restrictions, allergies, and food equity. They point out that about 32 million people in the United States have food allergies (roughly 1 out of 10 people), and that for some allergies, the food available is often much more expensive, with markups ranging from 100% to 1,000%.

At La Soupe, we make the effort to label each of our meals and soupes with ingredients, and descriptors like dairy free, vegetarian, vegan, as well as top 8 allergens. Although the nature of food rescue bars us from being able to serve extreme allergies like celiac or peanut, we hope that the ingredient knowledge allows many of our partners with dietary restrictions the agency to choose healthy, safe foods for their families from our product selection. Our Nourish initiative and Food is Medicine programs build upon this commitment to serve our neighbors with special nutritional needs and provide verified healthy options.

Read the full article on dietary restrictions, food equity and the Food Equality Initiative on The Counter here.

  — Emmy

FROM OUR DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR… DANIEL

La Soupe Winter Appeal 2021

Join us and support our mission to rescue, transform, share!

Our recipe for success is no secret - YOU are the special ingredient that makes our work possible.  Every gift counts - so whether you add a pinch or a pound, know that every donation is a meaningful investment in our work to provide chef-prepared meals for people across the region.

Please join our lead Winter Appeal donors Carolyn and Kevin Martin and support La Soupe today! 

— Daniel

WHAT’S SIMMERING?

CULINARY EDUCATION

We are in our 6th month of running Cooking Improv and what an incredible experience it has been! 

So many creative dishes have been born, and alongside the cooking, has been laughter and storytelling. Our belief that we are able to cook and listen to the instincts within us to make spectacular dishes has been confirmed class after class. A little guidance and encouragement to ask questions as you cook makes us all more intentional in the kitchen. And that is when the unconscious wisdom becomes a voice we can hear! I am so proud of all the students who have practiced their knife skills and produced an abundance of ready to cook veggies and all the students who have been brave enough to cook without a recipe. Thank you all for exploring with us and teaching us your tricks!

The Education Team is proud to announce that we are shifting the Cooking Improv Experience to Saturdays from 11am to 1pm starting on January 15th. 

This is a big shift and a long time a-coming! 

We hope you come by and cook with us. Remember, you can bring your family (ages 12 and up)

Sign up here!

— Kristen and Corinna

FROM OUR EXECUTIVE CHEF…. MIRANDA

It is officially sweet potato time!  We have received over 500 pounds of sweet potatoes in the last few weeks alone.  Now… how to make them into one of our favorite soups… add chorizo!

— Chef Miranda

Sweet Potato Chorizo

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound, Chorizo (no casing)

• 3 pounds Sweet potato, washed and chunked 1”

• 1 pound Red and Yellow Peppers, deseeded, chunked 1”

• ½ pound Onion, chunked 1”

• 2 Tbsp Garlic

• 3 quarts Chicken stock

• ½ cup Cilantro

• ¼ cup Vinegar

• 1 Tsp Cayenne.. optional

• Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

In a large soup pot, brown the chorizo on medium heat, breaking up with a wooden spoon and when broken up, add the peppers and onion and continue to cook, stirring until caramelized.  Add garlic, stir immediately to just render, and deglaze with Chicken Stock.  Add sweet potatoes, simmer for 30-45 minutes,  until you can smoosh the sweet potato with ease.  Puree with immersion blender (or if you don't have one, chop everything a bit smaller to have more of a stew), until smooth, add the remaining ingredients, adjust seasoning if needed.  

RESOURCES AVAILABLE WHILE WE ARE CLOSED

As the end of the year approaches, La Soupe wants to extend a tremendous thank you to ALL of our partners. We are so grateful that we all work together to bridge the gap between food waste and food insecurity, helping feed one person at a time. 

La Soupe will be closed starting December 24, 2021, and will reopen on January 3, 2022. While we are closed, here is a list of groups that will be open to accept food donations.

—Katy

Shared Harvest Foodbank

Open December 28-December 31

5901 Dixie Highway

Fairfield, Ohio 45014

513-874-0114

terry@sharedharvest.org 

 Master Provisions

Open December 27-December 29

7725 Foundation Drive

Florence, KY 41042

859-445-3530

guy@masterprovisions.org

JEE Foods

Open December 24, December 27-December 31

3371 Hamilton Cleves Road

Hamilton, OH 45013

513-868-4538

lgrimm@jeefoods.org

VOLUNTEER HIGHLIGHT- Julie Shelton

How did you first get involved with La Soupe? How long have you been working with La Soupe?

I first learned about La Soupe as a customer on Roundbottom Road.  I met Merret and talked to her about wanting to get involved.  Covid happened and so instead of being in-house at that point, I became a food runner.  Then in May, I was able to start working once a week in-house!  I thought I only had a couple weeks to be there until my children were out of school, but after my first day, I knew I was going to need to figure out a sitter situation so I could continue to go.  Once the kids were back to school in August, I started going in twice a week.

Why are you supporting La Soupe?

I love to cook.  I came upon cooking as a side hustle by circumstance.  I had a particularly hard morning getting everyone out the door for school one day, so I came home, chopped onions, carrots, and celery and ended up making dinner at 9am!  There is something magical that happens when I'm cooking.  I am in charge of only one thing at that moment.  I also know how much time it takes to prep veggies and such to put into a meal.  So now I get to go and chop zucchini, carrots, potatoes, salami, and whatever else the chefs need, and I understand how much I'm able to help them. 

What would you tell someone who is thinking about (donating, volunteering, etc.)?

DO IT!  An easy way to start learning about food waste is by being a food runner.  It feels so good to go to Kroger and pick up the produce and rescue it from being thrown away.  There are so many runs to choose from, that it's easy to fit into your schedule. 

What do you like doing in your time when you're not volunteering?

Other than cooking, I am a full time mom.  I have two children ages 14 and 10. I am always in my car, taking them here, there, and everywhere.  I also get to squeeze in a little bit of yoga teaching as well.  I love to craft and currently am making rag rugs on a loom.

What has surprised you most about working in the food rescue/food insecurity?

It breaks my heart knowing how many people aren't sure where their next meal is coming from.  While salami chopping is not a preferred activity around the kitchen, it goes directly to kids, so they have some protein to eat over the weekends so it makes it worth it.  It makes me crazy proud of La Soupe, seeing how much food comes in every single day.  Instead of tons (literally tons) of food being thrown away, we are able to quickly transform the food into soupe and other meals that are able to feed so many people.

Tell me about some of the people you've met while working with La Soupe? 

Shout out to my Tuesday crew!  I really love every single person I come in contact with!  Everyone is kind and genuinely happy to be there.  Never have I worked in a place with such positivity!  Between Ali being our fearless leader to other volunteers Karen, Kristin, Becki, Mindy, and Ralph as well as the Transform chef crew of Christophe, Meagan, (and when we are lucky) Ann, to Chefs Miranda, Dan, and Sydney-- we are quite the crew.  Like I mentioned before, I know Merret from before coming in-house.  And sweet Mac.  We became fast friends, also prior to my time at La Soupe.  One of the best parts of my day is having Family Meal with him each week!

What do you wish the public knew about La Soupe or the mission we support? 

YOU CAN ORDER ONLINE!  Many friends do not know that you can buy soupes or sides or meals online and pick them up in store.  It's my favorite thing to talk about, when I wear my La Soupe shirts outside of La Soupe.  People are always asking what it is or oh, I know Susy from (fill in the blank).  It's a pretty fantastic place to be, and I feel incredibly lucky to be there.