ATLANTA — What started as a risk for a determined Atlanta chef who decided to create unique soups for sale 25 years ago is now a thriving business. Souper Jenny is a collection of a few neighborhood cafes that serve the community.
Founder Jenny Levison took up another duty five years ago and joined the fight against hunger. It evolved into the Zadie Project, which is inspired by Levison’s dad. He was her cooking motivator.
“He gave me my very first recipe, which is my dad’s Turkey Chili and my most popular recipe,” she said.
When she first started her project, Levison prepared only 25 quarts of soup for students to take home. That would soon grow into hundreds. The project has grown to provide 800 quarts of freshly prepared soup to school children. Levison would then extend her project to older people in the metro area.
Since 2018, the business has distributed over 166,000 quarts of soup overall.
“My cause is for anyone going hungry, and that is what I care about. I have friends who are teachers, and they were telling me in the school system in Atlanta there are Title I school, where kids are getting their free breakfast and free lunch, but they were often going without dinner,” Levison said.
Volunteers like Jim Horgan come to Souper Jenny's Westside location each week to package freshly made soups for delivery.
“I’ve got 8 grandkids and I think it’s important to lead by example and show them that everybody has a chance to do something to help somebody else,” said Horgan.
Levison also has a thriving one-acre garden behind the Westside restaurant that grows a wide variety of vegetables and plants.
“Youngsters, seniors, anyone who would love to learn how to grow, and it doesn’t take a lot of space,” said Levison.
Levison is committed to the Zadie Project to continue fighting hunger, with soups and fresh vegetables as the top ingredients.
Those who want to become a volunteer of Zadie Project or join the cause, visit here.