Soup Sisters is a Canadian charitable organization dedicated to providing nourishing, well-balanced soup meals to vulnerable communities across the country. With a mission to nurture and nourish those impacted by food insecurity and crisis, Soup Sisters has served more than 4 million “Hugs in a Bowl” to families, individuals, and charitable organizations since 2009.
We spoke with Sharon Hapton, Founder & CEO of Soup Sisters, to learn more about her inspiring journey of turning a simple act of kindness into a national initiative, and how the organization continues to expand its reach through innovative programs like the Soup Sisters Soup Bank.
Describe your charity/non-profit/volunteer work in a few sentences.
Soup Sisters is a registered Canadian charitable organization dedicated to providing highly nourishing, quality, well-balanced soup meals to vulnerable communities. For 16 years, our soup – a Hug in a Bowl – has been offering comfort and nourishment to food-insecure students, families, individuals, charitable organizations and their clients.
Our mission is simple: To nurture and nourish communities impacted by food insecurity and crisis by making, donating and sharing wholesome and delicious soup.
We nourish with our soups which are an all-encompassing meal. One bowl meets all the nutritional needs according to food guides while still being delicious. Our soup meals are intentional: they are made specifically for those in need through our soup-making events or our high-volume production for the Soup Bank.
Soup Sisters is a small charity, but our impact since 2009 has been demonstrable. We have delivered and served more than 4 million hugs-in-a-bowl to those who need them most.
What problem does it aim to solve?
Our city and our country are experiencing an unprecedented surge in demand for social support, especially around food. The affordability crisis has raised food insecurity to its highest level in Canadian history. From families to individuals to charitable organizations, putting food on the table has never been more challenging.
Since inception, our nutritional soups have been solely produced through our volunteer soup-making events— the foundation of our success. When events were halted due to the pandemic, we were more determined than ever to feed communities in crisis. When many charities shuttered, we persevered.
Through innovation and unrelenting commitment, we developed a social enterprise model – the Soup Sisters Soup Bank. Our food costs are stable, unlike the escalating prices that agencies must endure. They are stretched: staff are burned out; volunteer corps are dwindling; and donations are decreasing.
Our donation model (Money In, Soup Out – MISO) and social enterprise initiatives provide Canadian-made food support options that are affordable and accessible.
When did you start/join it? What made you want to get involved?
I am a soup maker. I have cared for family and friends with soup for most of my adult life. If someone was down or needed some extra care, I would show up at their door, most often unannounced and with soup. I knew that this simple gesture had the power to change their day, and in the process of making it, I was letting them know how much I cared.
So, on my 50th birthday in 2009, I organized a group of friends to come together and make soup for women and children fleeing domestic violence at the Calgary Women’s Shelter, now known as Fear is not Love. The whole exchange – the soup-making, the visit, the comfort it provided and the appreciation it returned – created a fulfilling cycle of giving. Here is the recipe for Soup Sisters. All it took was for me to realize that I didn’t need to look beyond my truest self and that what I was looking for had always been inside me, just waiting to be recognized. After all, I am, and always have been, a soup maker.
We now celebrate March 3rd, the day Soup Sisters started, on National Soup It Forward Day!
What was the situation like when you started? How has it changed since?
Our programming started by engaging local volunteers at soup-making events, and with the support of local donors, we provided Hugs in a Bowl to emergency shelters. When the pandemic shuttered the in-person events, we adapted swiftly, leading to the creation of Canada’s only Soup Bank.
Since March 2020, we have produced our soups on a large-scale, highly cost-effective basis in a commercial production facility, flash-frozen and shipped from coast to coast. This is the Soup Sisters Soup Bank, a one-of-a-kind social enterprise sustainable model that breaks away from traditional food charity.
This approach ensures stable food costs and maximum impact for front-line organizations serving food-insecure communities across the country. The efficiency of the Soup Bank model allowed us to expand our agency partners to include marginalized seniors, transitional housing for the homeless, low-income schools, First Nations communities, centres for drug addiction and mental health, and food banks.
Our focus is to help so that resources are allocated to the critical needs of clients. The frontline agency only pays for the soup at cost, just as they would purchase food from a retailer but without inflated pricing, profit margins, or transportation fees. Agencies do not have to use their resources to buy food at inflated retail prices and spend already stretched time cooking in the kitchen. Delivered for free and ready to heat and serve, our soup frees up staff and volunteer time.
In 2024, 100,000 servings were intentionally and cost-effectively crafted and distributed to agencies in the city and across the country.
What more needs to be done? How can our readers help?
In schools across Canada, teachers and administrators see firsthand the toll hunger takes on students—poor concentration, lack of energy, and the psychological stress of not knowing when the next meal will come. There is a desire to provide nutritious food, but the resources are often unavailable.
We believe that no child should feel singled out for their financial situation. Food is a fundamental human right, and all students deserve access to nourishing meals. We take a whole-school approach by feeding the entire student body; there’s no separation between those who have and those who have not. Every child enjoys the same hot, nutritious meal together on a Soup Sisters Souper Kids Soup Day.
These meals are made possible by the generosity of sponsors who want to see a single hot meal profound impact on a child’s day and their future. The Souper Kids program relies on the generosity of the community. Donations ensure the low-income schools we currently support can count on regular soup days. We would also be able to expand our reach and add more schools and more students. Our unique ability to produce soup meals at the incredibly low cost of $1.20 per serving means funding dollars go a long way to fuel students. Good food is a human right, and when our students are nourished, we can then build a safe space for young minds to soar.
Do you have any events coming up?
There are regular soup-making events in nine cities across Canada. Together with our culinary partners, volunteers experience a deep sense of fulfilment through giving nutritious soup meals to local agencies and emergency shelters. This mainstay of our organization is a popular community investment activity for corporate team-building events. The original feel-good Soup Sisters event raises awareness of food insecurity and the local recipient organization, all while making, sharing and donating Hugs in a Bowl.
We also have three soup cookbooks published by Random House, available on Amazon and in bookstores. Each collection features hundreds of personal soup recipes from renowned chefs. All proceeds support our efforts!
Where can we follow you?
Website | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn
PAY IT FORWARD: What is an awesome local charity that you love?
Fresh Routes! This nonprofit’s mobile grocery store model delivers fresh, quality produce to communities that need access to nutritional foods. Plus, its affordable pricing structure means those experiencing food insecurity can participate in commerce, an important part of dignity.
