This week, we took our #FoodieFriday travels somewhere close to our hearts. Before we dive in on what La Soupe is all about and how you can get involved, we wanted to share our personal story with Founder, Suzy DeYoung.
Our family has known Suzy and her family for over 30 years. As a child, Maggie spent most of her time over at the DeYoung’s home – and boy has Suzy witnessed Maggie’s awkward years. Nonetheless, always supported Maggie and her family! In early 2000’s when Jeremy, Stacy’s husband, was diagnosed with cancer – Suzy was the one who showed up with soups and meals at their doorstep. Something that our family will never forget.
We traveled down to East McMillan to visit Suzy and her team to get an inside look at how La Soupe has transformed since opening in 2014. Boy, were we in for an overwhelming surprise. From the mission to the staff to the volunteers to the products and donations – seeing what has been created makes you want to do better.
For a little background, La Soupe is a 501 c(3) organization that bridges the gap between food waste and hunger. The chef team at La Soupe creates highly nutritious, restaurant quality, ready-to-eat meals using food that is recused from distributors all across Cincinnati. La Soupe has over 300 volunteers to pick up and deliver these meals to over 130 partners each week. In 2021 alone, La Soupe has rescued over 20,000 lbs of food a week and shares over 15,000 servings a week to feed those experiencing food insecurity. In cases where a child relies on school for their next meal, La Soupe distributes pre-packaged (for take home) and fresh meals.
La Soupe also offers their soup to the general public for purchase (along with a daily menu) if you just want to stop in and grab some delicious items! We couldn’t resist the Cheesy Broccoli Soup, White Chicken Chili, Buffalo Chicken Dip, 4 Cheese Mac N Cheese… we’ll stop there. We brought a lot home – and everyone from kids to grandparents enjoyed it!
We can’t wait to watch @LaSoupeCincinnati grow and to get more involved with what they are doing. Please do yourself a favor and check it out! www.lasoupe.org
Want to help? Give to La Soupe’s Winter Appeal.
