EATS & DRINKS | NONPROFIT
By Kara Isham | Photos courtesy of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families
Soup Sunday for Foodies
An annual event known for warming hearts as well as bellies is making some changes this year that will have foodies rejoicing.
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Soup Sunday Northwest Arkansas, a main fundraiser for Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, will be held Feb. 2 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Rogers Convention Center. This event combines local culinary talent with AACF’s mission of ensuring all children and their families have the resources and opportunities to lead healthy and productive lives as well as realize their full potential.
This year’s restaurant chair, Joseph Nguyen, who is also known on Instagram as Hangry Pedaler NWA, is using his own love for cuisine to help bring Soup Sunday to the next level for local foodies.
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Those attending the event will get to sample their way through some of Northwest Arkansas’ most delicious soups, stews and tastings. Using the connections he has with local chefs and owners, Nguyen has recruited more than 30 restaurants to participate in this year’s Soup Sunday, several of which are joining the event for the first time.
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“I wanted to focus on the diversity of cuisine,” Nguyen said about the event. “One of my main focuses was to get more places to commit who have never heard of Soup Sunday before.”
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Two of the new restaurants joining the event this year are Lasang Pinoy, which offers Filipino cuisine, and Italian restaurant Cura Culinary. These and other new restaurants will be joining staple restaurants such as Spring Street Bar & Grill, which has been participating in Soup Sunday for many years.
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A Springdale native, Nguyen and his wife, Nina, spend most weekends visiting eateries in Northwest Arkansas, always looking for new restaurants, smaller mom-and-pop spots or a new kind of cuisine they have never tried. Nguyen, an avid cyclist, has been posting about both his biking and food adventures on Instagram for more than five years now and has more than 23,600 followers.
Nguyen said getting new restaurants to participate in the event was not a hard sell because of AACF’s advocacy within the community. The Nguyens recently announced the arrival of their first child next year, so the mission of AACF is even more personal to them now.
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“Soup Sunday is a fun event for a good cause,” he said. “Anything that benefits children gets people excited. It’s all about bringing the community together to enjoy great food while making a real difference for Arkansas families.”
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For the restaurants, the event also provides a chance for some camaraderie and a little bit of competition. Attendees will once again get a chance to vote on their favorite offerings, with the restaurant receiving the most votes winning the coveted Golden Ladle Award.
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Founded in 1977, AACF is a nonpartisan organization that works to advance policy in Arkansas that benefits families and children. One focus of the group is making sure every child has a quality education. It has worked diligently to expand pre-K programs in the state, and the group supports having more summer and after-school programs for lower-income families.
In the area of health care, the group is focusing on making sure more Arkansas children are insured and that maternal health care resources in the state are expanded, among other efforts.
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But events such as Soup Sunday highlight AACF’s mission to combat hunger in Arkansas, which currently ranks second highest in the nation in food insecurity for children and the highest in the nation in overall food insecurity.
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Laura Kellams, AACF’s Northwest Arkansas director, said the organization works closely with supporters and legislators from both political parties because the issues being addressed are nonpartisan.
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“No child in Arkansas should go hungry,” Kellams said. “This is one of the issues everyone can agree on. We can all come together as a state to want the best and full potential for children to be able to live their best lives.”
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Some of the improvements AACF has fought for in this category is making it easier for kids to get school meals. Recently, the group saw the completion of a 10-year goal, with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits being expanded to include Marshallese families.
This change directly benefited parents such as Philmar Mendoza-Kabua, a local nursing graduate assistant, full-time student, wife and mom whose family was originally denied SNAP benefits because she was born in the Marshall Islands. Mendoza-Kabua said she and the rest of the Marshallese community are grateful for the efforts of AACF.
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“For over a decade, they’ve fought with us,” Mendoza-Kabua said. “They listened to our voices, shared our struggles and worked tirelessly alongside our community.”
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Kellams said the importance of events such as Soup Sunday is not only to raise money but also have the community come together for something everyone cares about. AACF uses these community events to help demystify the policy-making process and encourage those who may grow weary of politics to still care about policies that affect families and children.
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Along with Nguyen, this year’s event will be headed by honorary chair Kalyn Chance, merchandising vice president with bakery and bread for Walmart, and event chair Channing Barker with Walmart communications.
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Attendees will enjoy yummy bread and dessert offerings along with their soups, and the event will include live music, a silent auction featuring unique items and experiences, and a kids zone with fun activities such as face painting and balloon animals.
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Sponsors will get a head start in the tasting as well as dedicated seating, and this year’s event also includes an exciting matching gift opportunity, with Denton and Cathy Cole Seilhan matching all new and increased gifts up to $100,000.