The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Get souped-up at school fundraiser
St. Gabriel School’s hunger event will dish up meals framed around restaurant donations
Good food nourishes body and soul at the Souper Bowl, hosted each year by students at St. Gabriel School.
Soup is so comforting on those days when the cold wind whistles under the door and fingers, toes, necks and ears need sheltering when outdoors. The warm kitchen and cozy fireplace are rarely so appealing as in January and February.
Good food nourishes body and soul at the annual SouperBowl, hosted each year by students at St. Gabriel School in Concord Township to raise money for its food pantry. Donations of soup, salad and breads come from restaurants in the community for the Saturday-afternoon supper on Feb. 2.
“This year we’re planning to sell 700 to 1,000 tickets for our SouperBowl,” said Paula Haumesser, cochair of the event with Barb Schauer.
Restaurants from downtown Painesville to TJs on the Avenue in Mentor are being asked for a food donation that will feed 25.
A bake sale on Jan. 13 provided seed money for the event, Haumesser said.
“Although it’s donationbased, sometimes we need to purchase something gluten-free,” she said.
More than 300 students are involved in this year’s SouperBowl.
Last year’s soup event raised about $4,000 for the St. Gabriel Food Pantry, Haumesser said.
The St. Gabriel Food Pantry, now in its 41st year, serves more than 30,000 meals each month to people in the Mentor, Concord Township and Painesville areas. It is staffed by approximately 65 volunteers. An agency of the Cleveland Food Bank, it is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekdays.
That’s also when food items for the pantry can be dropped off. When it’s closed, nonperishable food items and cash donations are accepted at the parish office, 9925 Johnnycake Ridge Road in Concord Township. .
“The Pantry has been able to continue to serve so many people due to the amazing generosity of the St. Gabriel parish and surrounding community,” said Chris Siemen, food pantry operations manager.
The meal will be served in the school’s gym and multipurpose rooms, where Mentor High School’s Top 25 and the Murphy Irish Dancers will provide the entertainment.
“The soups will be rotated on our food line and served by students,” Haumesser said. “People can get two different soups at once
SUPER BOWL PARTY
When: 4:30 to 7 p.m. Feb. 2. Where: St. Gabriel multipurpose room, 9925 Johnnycake Ridge Road, Concord Township. Tickets: $10 adults; $5 children; those 5 and under eat free. Details: 440-352-8282. and are welcome to come back through the line.”
There is no schedule of when specific soups will be set out, but logos for participating restaurants will be displayed, she said.
“We’ll serve more than 85 gallons of soup that day,” she said.
Day School and Youth Faith Formation families bake breads and desserts and donate beverages.
Soup contributions include Italian wedding soup from TJ’s on the Avenue, Irish potato soup from Hooley House, white cheddar broccoli cheese soup from TGI Friday’s, chili from the Lake Catholic meal ministry and seafood chowder from the St. Gabriel Fish Fry Team.
School programs present facts about hunger and present speakers so students know it exists not just in the big city, but in their own backyards.
Haumesser said she had figured that this time of year was the most difficult for the food pantry to fill the needs but learned otherwise during one of the school programs.
“Summer is the most critical time for hunger,” she said. “That’s because school programs that serve kids free breakfasts and lunches aren’t open then.”
Like many soups, today’s hearty winter soup is ideally prepared a day in advance so flavors blend and intensify as it rests in the refrigerator overnight.