(L-R) Kelli Ritz, Jan Carr, and Daria Zmiyiwsky (team name as Bean There, Dill That) make bean, spinach and dill soup at the launching of Soup Sisters in Red Deer on Thursday. (rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

By Alessia Proietti

one bowl at a time

Soup Sisters non-profit feeding those in need launches in Red Deer

Nov 17, 2023 | 11:13 AM

When we are feeling sick, a warm bowl of soup can heal. When we are feeling down, a warm embrace from a loved one can uplift. And when we are feeling alone, a warm act of kindness from a stranger, can bring hope.

That is what Soup Sisters does, and what they are now doing in Red Deer.

On Thursday, the non-profit charitable organization launched in the city at Sunterra Market’s COMMUNITYtable cooking studio in Bower Place (4900 Molly Banister Dr.), bringing community leaders, including Mayor Ken Johnston and City Manager Tara Lodewyk, to make soup together for those in need, in this case, the Safe Harbour Society.

Soup Sisters began in 2009 by Calgarian Sharon Hapton. Feeling an empty nest in her home for the first time, she says she felt a nurture void in her heart and wanted to fill it with helping a stranger in need. She decided to do it the way she did with her own family; with a homemade bowl of soup using the best ingredients.

For her birthday, she gathered friends to make soup for a local women’s emergency shelter, with the experience leaving a lasting impact towards her mission.

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“The cook and the executive director came out crying because we had one soup with us that was halal and there were so many Muslim and Jewish women in the shelter at the same time,” she said.

Sharon Hapton, founder of Soup Sisters, at the Red Deer launch at Sunterra Markets on Thursday. (rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

To date, the organization has donated over four million servings of soup across Canada and created their own cookbooks.

Also conducting soup making classes in the United States, Hapton said she was “soup-er” excited that Red Deer will be their 28^th community launch of Soup Sisters, and first launch since 2020 due to the pandemic.

Hapton has partnered with Sunterra Markets for her classes in Calgary and Edmonton for over a decade and decided to come to Red Deer upon hearing there was a need for her donations. The market provides the ingredients, professional kitchen, chef facilitator to teach the recipes and techniques, while also sharing a meal together as the soup cooks.

“I believe that soup is full circle, and my line is, ‘and that’s why it comes in a bowl’,” said Hapton. “The soup maker and the recipient become one.”

Soup Sisters and Broth Brothers make soup at soup Sisters launch in Red Deer on Thursday. (rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)

At the launch this week, roughly 24 Soup Sisters and “Broth Brothers”, split into groups of four, preparing a unique type of soup per table. The result was around four litres of soup prepared per person, or 96 litres in total, donated for the Safe Harbour Society.

Participants then got to write the recipe and a heartfelt message for recipients on individual labels before ladling the final product into its containers.

Ashwini Kumar, Market Manager at Sunterra Market Keynote in Calgary, explained the importance of this step to remember the “why” of the event. He shared an experience with one member in his class who had previously been the recipient of the soup, coming full circle to making it for others.

Jennifer Cross, Interim Nurse Manager for the Safe Harbour Society, shared the history of the organization and the various programs they offer for those experiencing homelessness and addiction in Red Deer.

Opening their own detox program in 2012, they currently run the 211 social diversion program where specialized individuals respond to calls relating to mental health or substance abuse challenge rather than police, an outreach team to help connect people to housing, and indigenous programs like Many Healing Blankets and Wellbriety, being the first organization in Canada certified to offer the program.

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Currently running the emergency shelter at Cannery Row (5239 53 Ave.), Cross says their needs have quadrupled since 2020, housing over 200 people per night, and noting an increase in homelessness amongst older individuals between 50-70 years old. She says she has heard stories of some being evicted from their current housing due to mental health challenges and resulting altercations with neighbours. Some have also been homeless their whole lives and are now facing mobility challenges, she adds.

She also said there has been an increase in drug overdoses at the shelter, with staff responding to 368 around the premises since January 2023.

As there is no kitchen at the shelter, with individuals seeking food at the various soup kitchens nearby, she said this will greatly help them with emergency needs.

Cross said she feels, “honored, is the word, and so grateful to be chosen because we need it so badly. Just the energy that’s here and the care I can already feel from the organizers and the people; it’s palpable.”

“I just love how it’s connecting people who care in such a concrete way with the people in the shelter.”

Soup Sisters events can be booked by calling Sunterra’s Catering team at 403-263-9759 or cateringoffice@sunterra.ca. A minimum of 12 people is required for a booking with a maximum group size of 24 people. Events cost $79.99 per person and include two glasses of wine, appetizers, dinner and ingredients to make four litres of soup for each guest.

(rdnewsNOW/Alessia Proietti)