Growing with Purpose
/Six years ago, I joined La Soupe, drawn to its scrappy, grassroots energy. Suzy built this organization on passion and grit, and the team of ten at the time did it all—rescuing cheese at Trader Joe’s during a power outage, preparing catering orders, delivering emergency meals to natural disaster zones, fixing the Wi-Fi, and manning the retail counter. It was chaotic, charming, and fueled by a deep commitment to our mission. We made the impossible happen with limited resources, thanks to the dedication of our staff and volunteers.
Over time, we grew smarter and more organized. We launched programs tailored to the needs of our community, like diabetes-friendly meal deliveries and culturally varied menus. We built systems to support those programs and shared what we learned about feeding people with rescued food with anyone who asked.
That passion and support helped La Soupe grow quickly. In 2020, we hit a huge milestone: preventing 1 million pounds of food waste—a number accelerated by pandemic supply chain disruptions. Now, we’re looking at 1.4 million pounds of food rescued in FY25. Our staff and volunteer chefs have grown more efficient, from 60,000 servings in our first year to nearly 1.4 million this year. Through all this growth, we’ve attracted people who believe deeply in our mission, which makes La Soupe special.
When I stepped into the COO role in 2022, I focused on strengthening our foundation. My goal has always been to build an organization that values its people—staff, volunteers, and the community we serve—so we can deliver nourishment and culinary excellence for years to come. We’ve added team members to ensure we’re sustainable behind the scenes and have implemented processes and policies that let us work smarter while keeping our hearts intact. It’s incredible to hear volunteers and visitors describe the “electric energy” they feel inside our doors—that’s the spirit of La Soupe.
Over the past year, as part of creating La Soupe’s three-year strategic plan, we took time with our staff to define the core values we want to uphold and hold each other accountable to in our work and mission. Here is what we developed together:
Core values:
Exemplary Quality and Safety in food preparation and distribution, community engagement, and programming.
Agile Creativity to tackle food waste challenges and develop innovative culinary solutions.
Dignified Inclusivity that embraces diversity, leads with compassion, and builds equity.
Community Collaboration with local chefs, food producers, social service organizations, healthcare providers, and government entities that support a more resilient food system.
Dynamic Sustainability through food rescue, environmental stewardship, and continuous improvement.
This year, we’re committed to doing as much as possible for our community with our resources, always keeping these values front and center. Whether you’re a volunteer, donor, staff member, or partner, I hope you feel these values in every interaction with us. Thank you for supporting and amplifying them with us!