Soup Sunday raises money to help children in poverty in Northwest Arkansas
by February 29, 2016 3:09 pm 541 views
A crowd of almost 1,000 adults and children gathered to sample soups to support children in poverty at Soup Sunday.
A crowd of almost 1,000 adults and children gathered at John Q. Hammons Convention Center in Rogers to sample a variety of soups at the 15th annual Soup Sunday (Feb. 28). They raised an anticipated $85,000 to benefit Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF).
A non-profit organization founded in 1977, AACF “works to provide leadership, research and advocacy to promote wide-ranging reforms” that include: protecting children, improving children’s health and promoting early education and economic security for families.
Laura Kellams, NWA communications director for AACF, said the organization works to change public policy in Arkansas in ways that allows all children, no matter their economic background, to have the opportunity to thrive. High quality pre-K programs, access to comprehensive health care, proper nutrition, and after school programs are specific examples of the issues for which they advocate, Kellams said.
“All those are ways we can change statistics,” she said. “There are solutions to the issues that kids face in poverty and many of them are at the policy level. So, that’s how we do our work.”
Kellams said the strength of AACF is that it is an independent organization, not tied to the government or any program and since their work doesn’t serve children directly, they have more credibility when talking to lawmakers.
“All our work is done by researching what kids need and working to get the state to implement that,” she said. “We aren’t going to change our budget or hire anybody or start a new program, for example, if kids get health insurance. It’s not going to affect us. But it will improve the lives of thousands of kids across the state.”
Martine Pollard, executive director of communications for Mercy and an AACF board member, said the organization’s work is important for the long-term success of Arkansas. She said better healthcare and nutrition helps children do better in school and, in turn, become more productive citizens of the state. Kellams said AACF has had many successes over the years including AR Kids First health insurance program and the Arkansas Better Chance Pre-K program (ABC).
“Now more than half the kids in our state have access to a doctor through AR Kids First,” she said.
AACF is working with the office of Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) and the legislature to procure more funding for ABC, and is also working to make sure the state continues to provide health insurance through the private option, Kellams said. In addition, AACF works to make sure funding provided for kids programs is being spent wisely. Kellams said that an example of this is the state money that goes to high poverty schools.
“We find some school districts use their poverty funding very well on proven programs like pre-K and after school and some of them don’t,” she said. “We want the state to actually make stricter use of that funding so they don’t spread it across different things that aren’t targeted toward poverty.”
For Sunday’s event, guests paid $25 in advance for adults ($30 at the door) and $10 for children to attend. Sponsors, including the Endeavor Foundation, Harp’s Food Stores, Mercy Hospital, and Pam and David Parks, covered costs for the event, and all ticket proceeds went directly to AACF.
The money raised will cover the yearly budget for the AACF office in Northwest Arkansas, Kellams said.
At the event, 29 different NWA restaurants offered 34 different soups for guests to try. Justin Eaton, owner of IDK? Café in Bentonville, said his restaurant participated by offering chicken tortilla soup, beer cheese soup, desserts and drinks to attendees. He said this is his third year to help with the event and he participates because he believes in the mission of AACF and their stance for children and families.
“They advocate for our children, who are our future,” Eaton said. “It’s near and dear to our hearts to make sure that children are well provided for – anywhere from food to legal issues and so on.”
Soup samplings included vegetable soup (Spring Street Grill), lobster bisque (Bonefish Grill), Isabel’s muso cubano peach (Zuppa Zuppa), ribollita (The Hive), lemon chicken soup with rice (Taziki’s), white chicken chili (Creative Kitchen & Friends), tortilla soup (Table Mesa Bistro), pasta fagioli (Bocca Italian Restaurant), roasted butternut squash (28 Springs Restaurant) and tomato basil (Longhorn Steakhouse).
Arsaga’s Espresso Café and IDK? Café provided drinks, with Panera Bread and Spring Street Grill offering bread. Breyer’s Ice Cream, Briar Rose Bakery, IDK? Café, Loblolly’s Creamery and Soup Shack gave out desserts.
Guests at the event enjoyed music by Mcfetridge Jazz Combo, and activities for children such limbo and dancing. During the evening, guests participated in silent and live auctions, with the live auction raising an around $18,500.
Organizers said a similar event, held in Little Rock on Jan. 31, 2016, raised around $137,000 and hosted an estimated 1,800 people.
