Surge Cupboard’s unused food will become meals prepared by La Soupe
On Friday, Mar. 12, a group of Cincinnati State volunteers loaded up a van with 896 pounds of expired and expiring food that has been in the Surge Cupboard Food Pantry since the start of the pandemic.
The van transported the food to the local non-profit organization La Soupe, where the donations will become ingredients in meals for people who are dealing with food insecurity.
Helpers seen above (from left) are Marybeth Barnes, Katy Nardolillo (Partner Relations Manager at LaSoupe), Abbey Yee, Wayne Herbers, and Tony Waite.
La Soupe, Inc., founded by local chef and restaurant owner Suzy DeYoung in 2014, bridges the gap between food waste and hunger by rescuing perishable food, transforming it into delicious and nutritious meals, and sharing with the food insecure.
La Soupe will be able to use most of the Surge Cupboard donated food, and will dispose of anything that cannot be used.
Project volunteer Abbey Yee said, “Katy from La Soupe was very excited about the donation, and we were all glad the food could be used to help others, and not just keep sitting unused inside the Main Building.”
Abbey also noted, “Wayne Herbers and Tony Waite were around at just the right time to help load the van.”
In addition to those seen above, other volunteers assisting with the donation project included Angela Haensel (Surge Cupboard volunteer coordinator), Mimi Albers, Patty Edwards, Meredith Effler, Denise Gabrelski, and Kelly Hubbard.
As seen in photos above and below, the donated food filled several carts and covered nearly the entire floor space of the van.
Cincinnati State’s Midwest Culinary Institute is a long-time partner to La Soupe.
- Students and staff at the Midwest Culinary Institute have regularly volunteered to assist La Soupe in making meals to be donated.
- In January 2019, during an extended Federal government shut-down, MCI and La Soupe partnered to provide a “pop-up kitchen” with meals for the furloughed government workers and their families.
La Soupe sells food to the public from their location on East McMillan St., with profits from retail sales helping to support the non-profit activities. Currently, only online ordering and curbside pickup are available.
(Photos provided by Abbey Yee)
Below, Denise Gabrelski and Abbey Yee get ready to take donations to the La Soupe van
