In 2016, the Soup & Hummus sale was started by Donna Sawhill, Sandy Kuriger, Sandra Lane, and myself, with the goal of raising funds to help pay down the sanctuary renovation loan. When we met to plan the 2022-23 year, we decided to make this, our 7th year, our last. We envisioned the loan being paid off (it was!!) and felt we accomplished what we set out to do.

Our sale was successful thanks to the many soup and hummus lovers who faithfully supported the sale and thanks to the dedication of the soup and hummus team, which also included Bola Nicholson, Belinda Resler, Jeff Moore, Rhonda Coles, Nancy Shuluga, Bill Kuriger, Jr., Pat Grossarth, Jenine Furry, and Susie Moffett, all of whom stepped in to make soup, helping to give Donna, Sandy, and me an occasional, and much appreciated, month off from soup making.

By the time the sale was over, $27,276.52 was raised and applied to the loan principal, with an additional $4,603.51 from the sale going into the Capital Fund to help care for our church building. The total raised throughout the 7 years was $31,880.03. For the most part, the ingredients for the soups and hummus were covered by the “chefs,” which further helped maximize the funds raised through the sale.

Over the seven years, 2,721 quarts and 544 pints of soup, and 654 containers of hummus, were ordered. These counts don’t include the uncounted extras that were sold. Often, extra soup was given to people going through challenging times, as well.

We also didn’t shy away from trying different soups and, in total, offered 33 different varieties: Beef Barley Vegetable, Black Bean, Broccoli Cheddar, Butternut Squash, Chicken & Wild Rice, Chicken Tortilla, Chicken Gnocchi, Creamy Chicken Noodle, Chili, Corn Chowder, Corned Beef & Cabbage, Cream of Potato, French Onion, Gazpacho, Hearty Bean & Barley, Ham & Bean, Ham & Potato, Lentil, Minestrone, Mushroom Bisque, French Onion, Pasta e Fagioli, Peanut, Sweet Sausage & Tortellini, Southwestern Bean, Stuffed Pepper, Tomato, Tomato Dill, Vegetable Beef, Vegetable Cheddar Chowder, Vegetarian Vegetable, Wedding, and Zuppa Toscana.

We didn’t let the pandemic stop us! Early in the pandemic when there were shortages of food items, it became challenging to find the ingredients we needed, but we persevered. When we couldn’t meet in person for worship and luncheons for people to have access to order forms, we moved to phone calls and online ordering, which continued until the sale ended.

The sale taught me that a small idea can make a big difference. All of us, soup & hummus makers and soup & hummus lovers, came together in a beautiful and yummy way and made a huge impact! Thank you!!

Photo by idalingi