The Soup Ladies-Ginger "Mama" Passarelli
"Warming the world one bowl at a time..."
Ginger "Mama" Passarelli, founder of the "The Soup Ladies", was the speaker on March 31.
The Soup Ladies organization has been a non profit since 2004 and started about 18-19 years ago taking soup to a church every week, now provides meals for first responders at crimes/disasters/emergencies.
Ginger is also a chaplain for first responders. She went to Mississippi six times to help feed people after Hurricane Katrina. Putting out 700 meals a day at first.
The first responders were not being taken care of. When he came back she called the local fire department and asked if it was true that first responders are not being cared for in crisis situations.
Worked with King County Search and Rescue to feed volunteers. Took incident command training, background checked, registered as emergency workers, covered by state insurance. They work major crime scenes to feed the first responders.
They have and use a mobile kitchen trailer to put out hundreds of meals per day. They were at Oso to assist feeding the first responders. Put out 6,655 meals in Oso. It's not about the food, it's the tool. They passed out as many hugs as they did meals. "We get to love people."
They were in Marysville after the school shooting. They were in the fires in Eastern Washington. Responded to the Roseburg, Oregon shooting. Familiar with the first responders likes/dislikes. Over 8,000 meals put out just this year so far.
No charge for their services to any government agency. Large list of donors. Average $3 per meal per person.
Try to be out the door with meals for at least 100 in one hour. Keep socks and underwear in their cars for the first responders. They sleep in gyms, churches, sheds, etc. when on site. Over 50 "soup ladies" and "stew dudes" in Sno, King, and Pierce Co. Mama has a restaurant in Black Diamond.
From Left to Right: Dean Jenkin, Lead Chaplain, Bruce Stedman, Public Safety, and Mamma Passarelli