Souper Bowl food drive to include soup dinner and competition

Souper Bowl of Caring features soup competition among restaurants

On the first weekend of February, most will be thinking about football.  Some will also be thinking of those without food in south Kansas City.

The Red Bridge Area Food Pantry and the churches and organizations supporting it are hosting their Third Annual Souperbowl of Caring Food Drive on Saturday, February 2nd.

The community is being urged to take part in this year’s Souper Bowl of Caring by bringing soup and other nonperishable food items and household paper goods to First Baptist Church, 100 W. Red Bridge Rd., from 3 to 5 p.m. and staying for dinner from 5 to 6:30 p.m. featuring a soup competition featuring three local chefs.  Participants are asked to enter through the canopy on the north side of the church.

A challenge goal of 5,000 donated food items has been set.

The free Community Dinner will consist of homemade soup, salad, bread and dessert.   In addition to individuals bringing soup, there will be a Soup Competition between at least three area restaurants: Blue Moose, Southside Bar and Grille, and Jerry’s Cafe, as a way of supporting the food drive. Judging the soup this year are Beverly Cunningham, Center School Board President; Sherry Bridges, Red Bridge Mid-Continent Library branch manager; Rachel Casey, Community Assistance Council executive director, and Kathy Feist, Martin City Telegraph publisher.

The Community Assistance Council and NourishKC have helped organize the event.

Volunteers are needed to help count and sort the food as it arrives.  Volunteers are also needed to help transfer the food from vehicles in the parking lot to the food pantry.  The Red Bridge Food Pantry is associated with the Community Assistance Council. Over the past year, over 18,000 food items have been distributed to families in need at the Red Bridge Pantry.

If delivering food to the pantry on that Saturday is difficult, food may be dropped off at the Canopy entrance on the northside of First Baptist Church any week-day, 9 am to 4 pm.

Donations from this community-wide food drive will benefit the food pantry at the church and the Community Assistance Council’s affiliated food pantry on the Ruskin High School campus at 10901 Blue Ridge Blvd.

For more information about the event which is part of a nationwide effort to fight food insecurity, persons may call 913-313-0250 or 816-942-1866.  They may go to www.tacklehunger.org to find out more information about the nationwide effort.