Fall service project brought together CState employees & students to make soup for the community
On December 12, 2024, after the College’s Holiday Luncheon ended, 45 Cincinnati State faculty and staff members, along with 10 Culinary students, gathered in two Midwest Culinary Institute kitchens where they spent several hours chopping and cooking food. Their combined efforts produced 168 gallons of soup to be shared with others in the region.
The eight different kinds of soup (enough for 1,800 individual servings) were poured into plastic buckets that were picked up by La Soupe for distribution to individuals who are experiencing food insecurity.
La Soupe is a non-profit organization that rescues excess, perishable food from local restaurants and grocery stores, transforms it into delicious and nutritious meals, and shares the meals with those in need.
The December service project was the second time College volunteers have made soup for La Soupe distribution. Like the first project in February 2024, this effort was planned by Lee Ransdell (a Cincinnati State Culinary graduate and La Soupe volunteer), along with Nora Beckmann (Math instructor), Chef Michael Whitley (MCI Director), Chef Greg Skibinski (Culinary Arts Program Chair), and Jay Zwerin (Central Operations Manager for the Midwest Culinary Institute).
The chefs and culinary students guided the other volunteers through the soup-making process, while Christmas music played.
Chef Whitley said, “We appreciated the opportunity for the College to come together in our MCI kitchens to prepare soup for our community. La Soupe rescues food throughout the year, and it was nice to donate already-made soup for them to distribute to food-insecure families. Also, none of our volunteers cut themselves!”
Faculty member Wednesday Oster (Business) observed, “Partnering with La Soupe showcased one of the best characteristics of Cincinnati State: our teamwork. Seeing students, faculty, administrators, and the community all come together to exceed the production goal was a great reminder of what we do here every semester!”
Faculty member Heather Rosewell (Humanities & Sciences) described the event as “a unique experience” that provided an opportunity to meet other employees while carrying out “a purpose that was greater than ourselves.” She said it was an “incredible time” and hopes to volunteer again in the future.
Allyson Knue (CState Complete) said, “Sharing food with others has always been important to my family, especially at the holidays. It meant a lot to cook closely with colleagues from across campus on behalf of La Soupe. We worked well together, with great guidance from the team of chefs and culinary students. It was a really cool opportunity to cook in our own kitchen classrooms!”
Ginna Witte (Institutional Advancement) noted, “I had a great time meeting new faculty and staff and getting to reconnect with some familiar faces.” She thanked the chefs for their guidance, adding, “My culinary skills are limited but I’m proud to say I’m now a master parsley chopper!”
Kelly Harper (Career Center) also praised the event as a learning opportunity, saying, “I now know that the onion will tell me where to cut it.” She expressed appreciation for ”time to participate in such a worthy cause, spend time with individuals in our College that I don’t always get to see, and give back to the community.”
