Feel good soup for the soul benefits food banks

Posted Feb 2, 2012 By Michael J Brethour

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Cecile Simpson, a volunteer of some five years with Gleaners Food Bank holds up a custom made bowl containing some tasty Curried Carrot Soup during last Saturday's Empty Bowls fund-raiser.

Michael J Brethour, Belleville EMC

Cecile Simpson, a volunteer of some five years with Gleaners Food Bank holds up a custom made bowl containing some tasty Curried Carrot Soup during last Saturday's Empty Bowls fund-raiser.

EMC News -Belleville - The second edition of the fund-raising partnership between Loyalist College and Quinte Regional Food Sharing Shelters proved that the sequel sometimes can be better than the original.

The event is a partnership between the Quinte Region Food Share Shelter (a local organization of nine area food banks) and Loyalist College Students in Free Enterprise or SIFE. The QRFSS includes the following collective of food banks: Deseronto, Brighton, Belleville, Madoc, Marmora, Stirling, Loyalist College, Picton and Wellington.

Susanne Quinlan, director of operations at The Gleaners Food Bank in Belleville, said the milling crowds that came out to the fund raiser is a testament to word getting around. "People were waiting outside the doors for the soup, anxious to see the types of soups we had available today," she said.

Last year the event raised $3,000, Quinlan said the event hoped to meet or exceed that and based on the crowds early in the day she was very optimistic.

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the college's cafeteria last Saturday participants in the event were given the opportunity to help local food banks by purchasing a bowl hand crafted by area artisans for $20 and getting a serving of gourmet soup.

The event also featured over 20 vendors selling their artisan wares and live music by The Fiddle Guy & Friends and Colleen McAllister.

As far as the marriage between artisans and culinary artists working toward helping out area food banks Quinlan said that the event is an ideal microcosm of small business in the Quinte region.

"These artisans who donated the bowls produce incredible wares, this gives them a chance to showcase their wares in a very public forum," she said.

Quinlan said the support of Loyalist and the culinary program, SIFE and the artisans themselves shows how this community cares and can work together for a successful event.

"It's nice to see people care on that base level. A food bank is only as good as the community that supports it," commented Quinlan.

All funds raised at the Empty Bowls event stay in the community to help eight Quinte region food banks which provide food hampers and community resources information to more than 3,400 families a month throughout the Quinte region.

Loyalist culinary program co-ordinator and chef John Schneeberger prepared curried carrot and tomato gin soups.

Schneeberger said the culinary program is honoured to be partnered with Gleaners for the event.

"We have quite a history with Gleaners, we support them 100 per cent. This is a community College and we are all about community, we want to do our part and help out," he said.

He noted that four or five culinary students volunteered their time for the event to prepare the soup and help out.

"They have been busting their butts all morning to make sure this is done today and of course good enough is never good enough. They want to make sure it is perfect. When they come out and see people making that 'mmmhh' noise lapping the soup up it's, well ... manna for the soul," commented Schneeberger

Dinkles Restaurant in Belleville provided a beef minestrone soup.

Thanks to the generosity of people attending $3,500 was raised.