On Feb. 22, It'll be a Soup-er Saturday on the South Side

Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting’s Community Food Connections initiative is partnering with the South Side Soup Contest as a check-in station and food collection point at our station at 67 Bedford Square. Come on over on Feb. 22, from 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Ticket-holders can bring a non-perishable food item to the station and register for the event. 

Now in its sixteenth year, the South Side Soup Contest, is one of Pittsburgh’s favorite winter events. The contest helps to bolster commerce on the South Side as well as stock the food pantry for the Brashear Association by offering soups from 25 restaurants at more than 25 local businesses.  

“Community residents and businesses have been providing donations to our food pantry for years, and continue to do so,” said Candice Benson, a family services case manager at the Brashear Association. “Unfortunately, with the growing number of individuals coming to the pantry for the first time, food flies off the shelves very quickly. The Soup Contest provides both financial sustainability, and a great supply of food.”

Benson, a 40-year resident of Pittsburgh’s South Side, has been affiliated with the Brashear Association for many years, first as a client and now as an employee. She said Brashear’s food pantry can often act as the first point of contact for people who can benefit from additional services offered by the organization. 

“It brings me the utmost joy to be able to provide resources to customers, who in turn become case management clients, and have positive outcomes as a result of their work with us,” Benson said.

The Brashear Association food pantry is stocked with help from food drives, the Greater Pittsburgh Community Foodbank and the grocery store chain Aldi. It cycles through approximately 3,000 pounds of food a year.

While food is among the important tangible resources that Brashear offers to South Side residents, toiletries, clothing and additional household items are also a benefit to those the association serves. 

“I find it interesting to know that people are in need of more than just food, they are also extremely grateful when we provide them with donated toiletries, clothing and other household items,” Benson said. 

Buy your tickets to the Soup Contest here, then come to 67 Bedford Square on Feb. 22 with your donation to the Brashear Association to help fight food insecurity on the South Side.