There's something special about soup that signifies more than simply warm nourishment. It's the epitome of home cooking, it's food for the soul and for a group of Tri-City women, making soup is a way to support vulnerable women and youth.
Tara McIntosh, a Port Moody mom, is hoping to start a local branch of the non-profit charity Soup Sisters. The organization started in 2009 by Calgarian Sharon Hapton and has groups in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and B.C., including one in Vancouver.
Volunteers meet once a month to make soup for shelters and other agencies but before a branch of Soup Sisters can start up here, McIntosh and her volunteers need to find a culinary partner that can provide a commercial kitchen and other support for the project.
"We partner up with a restaurant, or a golf club, somebody who is going to give us their kitchen once a month," she said. "Every participant who wants to make soup for charity has to pay $50 - the money goes to the restaurant - the chef then buys ingredients to make the soup."
There are many benefits to being a partner, she noted, including the opportunity to develop a new clientele, gain exposure and help vulnerable families in the Tri-Cities.
The way it works is volunteers sign up to participate on soup day and then meet at the commercial kitchen to make about 200 servings of gourmet soup. Then it's delivered to a charity or shelter - in this case Joy's Place, the transition house for victims of domestic violence which is run by Tri-City Transitions.
"People line up to be participants," McIntosh said, because in addition to the good feeling of making soup for people who can benefit, the participants share a light meal together, which includes the soup and usually a glass of wine.
"We've already got women who want to volunteer, just from my own group of friends," McIntosh said. "They just feel it's nutrition, it's like so much stuff packed for low cost, that's why they focused on soup."
The kitchen has to be able to fit up to 30 participants and a chef or cook for supervision as well as shop for the soup ingredients. To find out more about Soup Sisters, visit www.soupsisters. org. To contact McIntosh, email her at [email protected].
