Only four years running, Soup’s On! is one of Greater Madison’s newest traditions, connecting locally owned food producers with their communities through one of life’s simplest culinary pleasures: soup. Every Tuesday from November 6 through March, people are supporting the restaurants, food carts, and caterers they love while discovering new favorites.
The whole thing started during COVID, when Theresa Pullara-Ouabel of Bunky’s Catering read the writing on the wall and wanted to create something that would give business owners in the food industry a chance to make reliable supplemental income. “Theresa actually approached former executive director Colin Murray of Dane Buy Local,” says Amy Johnson, publisher and editorial director of Madison Locally Sourced. “I was serving as president of the board at the time, so he contacted me to meet with him and Theresa to talk about it. She said, ‘It’s easy for the restaurants to do. The overhead is low. We don’t have to charge a lot. We can freeze the soup. They make it fresh every week.’”
Greater Madison then did it what it does best, and a bunch of businesses volunteered their time and expertise to make it work. Jeff Affeldt at Arcus Communication Design created the sales page and e-commerce system where people could order the soups on the Dane Buy Local website. Madison Locally Sourced, Cap Times, and Dane Buy Local promoted the event alongside posts on participants’ sites and social media. Madison Locally Sourced created the ads for everyone involved to use in their promotions.
Feed Kitchens, which rents commercial kitchen space for food carts and caterers and hosts various educational groups, played a central role freezing the soups overnight and serving as the pick-up/distribution headquarters. When Amy Johnson reached out to Chris Brockel, director of food systems at Feed Kitchens, he wasn’t immediately sold on the idea. “I didn’t really have super high expectations for it,” says Chris. “But it was an activity that kept us here and a reason to come to work every day.
“That first year, we were almost immediately selling about 400 quarts of soup a week. The demand was just there. People kept asking for more. I had only so much room in my freezer, so eventually we capped it at 600 soups.”
Initially, the plan was just to do it the one season, but by the end of the first year, everyone knew they’d be doing it again come next October. From those packaging the soup Tuesday morning to the businesses making the soups to the people buying the soups, everyone was happy to be a part of it.
Participant Yakub Kazi of Ember Foods says, “The experience has been very good having made different types of popular soups of India. The most popular has been an Indo-Chinese soup called Sweet Corn Chicken Soup. Soup’s On! was a blessing in disguise, as it supported the business income, especially during the pandemic, plus it gave us the opportunity to try something new. We look forward to introducing new soups this year.”
Amy adds, “There is an incredible variety of soup to choose from, including many vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options. Purchasers have been so happy with the selection.”
Feed Kitchens is also the home of Healthy Food for All, an initiative which collects high-quality produce from local farms and surplus prepared food from caterers and retailers and distributes them to food pantries, meal sites, and low-income neighborhoods.
Chris says, “The Healthy Food for All, the donation piece, I can’t even say enough. People love the project because nobody wants to see anyone go hungry. Soup’s On! is an easy way to make a donation. We have people that will buy 10 soups and donate 8 of them. The other great thing about it is restaurants themselves make donations. They may have an order for 25 quarts of soup. Instead of 25 quarts, they’ll bring 30 and say, ‘Those 5 are for donations.’”
Soup’s On! has also helped new food businesses get their name out. Daijah Wade of The Walking Jerk says, “Soup’s On! was a great opportunity for me last year. Many people enjoyed the soups I made and recognized The Walking Jerk while out vending from Soup’s On! It definitely helped me take care of bills and purchase needed items for my business. I enjoyed being a part of Soup’s On! and look forward to it this year.”
This fall and winter, instead of going to Dane Buy Local’s website, Soup’s On! will be hosted on the Madison Locally Sourced website. For more information, to see what’s new each week, and to place your order, visit madisonlocallysourced.com/soups-on weekly Wednesday through Saturday and pick-up or receive delivery of your order the next Tuesday.
