As the weather cools down, we tend to crave warm and cozy fall foods. One of the most versatile fall foods requires a large pot, veggies, a stock of some kind, beans, and anything else you want to throw in. 

We're talking about soups, stews, and chili. Soups are a great way to get a meal full of hearty grains, veggies, and proteins. You can top your bowl with melty things, crunchy things, spicy things, or a combination of all the things. Here are a few other great benefits of a large pot of soup:

• A few ingredients stretch a long way. Several cans usually feed anywhere from 4-8 comfortably.
• The basic ingredients are often part of grocery store specials (10/$10, BOGO, 4/$5, etc.)
• Leftovers are common and they can be reheated the next day or frozen for later use.
• Ingredients are affordable, often canned, and can be stored long-term.

These benefits make soup the perfect donation for a food pantry. I'm not talking about canned soups. I'm talking about putting together 6 or 7 cans of ingredients to make a meal (or two) for a family. While dropping off the items collected during October for Reconciliation House, director John Miller shared how it was getting harder to keep food stocked. MANNA FoodBank, a large supplier of food to Reconciliation House, produced an article a few months ago stating,

"As a food bank, MANNA has also felt the impacts of supply chain issues and rising costs. In fact, food banks throughout the country have had trouble meeting the need due to inflation. While demand remains higher than it did prior to the pandemic, food banks are having a difficult time providing food for their communities due to a drop in food donations, a longer-than-usual wait time for food orders and an increase in food prices."

Taking all of this into consideration, instead of another general food drive, throughout the month we'll be collecting ingredients to make a hearty vegetable soup. Local 4-Hers will take the ingredients collected and assemble individual meal kits for families and donate them to Reconciliation House for distribution.
Below are the ingredients we'll be collecting to create an easy 7-Can Vegetable Soup:

1. Diced tomatoes with green peppers and onions
2. Petite diced tomatoes
3. Tomatoes with green chiles
4. Mixed vegetables (be sure to get one with green beans)
5. Corn kernels
6. Kidney beans
7. Chili beans (with or without meat)