This is a project to put a high-quality soup pot and weekly ingredients and lessons on cooking into the hands of food insecure families in Tompkins and Cortland County.
Donate cold hard cash. It costs nearly $50 a month for each family involved. Each family is feeding about eight people for one hearty meal of nourishing soup each week. Right now we have limited it to 30 families but have a wait list. There is ZERO overhead for this project other than actual costs of materials and food. NO staff. No fringe cuts. 100% goes to the project. Careful records are being kept and can be seen by anyone who asks. Sponsorships of a single family at $50 a month is great. A sponsorship can make a nice gift in honor of someone.
Donate a soup pot. There is a a particular pot that they want – they want to gift people pots that will last them a lifetime. Please contact them for details. Each pot costs around $55. They also accept used cast iron anything.
Donate spices and cooking oil: We need new, unopened bottles of the following spices: paprika, garlic powder, basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme, Italian seasoning, chili powder, chili flakes, black pepper in boxes, cinnamon, nutmeg. Entire unopened bottles of cooking oil of all kinds.
Donate bags of dried beans of the following kinds: Northern beans, pinto beans, red lentils, brown (green) lentils, red beans, black beans, and plain rice. Each month they do one bean recipe and will be starting with dried white beans this month.
Make/donate an apron for an adult or a child and put a note in the pocket that says hi! The apron should have a front on it (not just the skirt) and at least one pocket.
Hit up a wood worker to make a step stool for a child to cook along with a parent or grandparent in this project. They will give you the dimensions. Many people are home alone with small children and children can happily help if they can safely see what is going on. A child who shares in cooking will learn lessons for a lifetime.
Donate utensils: wooden spoons, potato mashers, ladles, measuring spoons and measuring cups for both dried and wet ingredients.
Help be a coordinator for your community: This involves helping locate donors, helping pack and deliver pots and ingredients and being available as a resource for questions. Allow your home to be a collection point for donations.
Cook along with them: Join Operation Soup Pot Love in following recipes each week and cook the soup! Post pictures and share it with friends! Give some away and put some in the food cabinets!
All materials can be delivered to 16 Muriel Street in Ithaca.
Please contact Jane Marie Law at jml16@cornell.edu or at 607-229-3431 for information on how to donate or volunteer.
*Photo credit: @_theveggiechef_ on Instagram
