Inspired by a children's story, Stone Soup is a way of saving the tidbits of food that would normally have been thrown out as useless, and combining them into a hearty soup which is then donated to the poor and hungry
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| Eliot Fiks (right) and Stacey Gould, partners at Whole in the Wall Restaurant in Binghamton, prepare a batch of Stone Soup. |
Stone Soup represents a new concept in food donation unlike any others. Many food service establishments donate food, this food being leftovers. Every time a vegetable is cut there is mint quality usable food on the end. This untapped food source is the basis for Stone Soup.
Eliot Fiks of Binghamton's Whole in the Wall restaurant began this program in October of 1995 and has been encouraging other local establishments to join in since. Each week Fiks' saves up those bits of food from his restaurant that couldn't be used and freezes them in small containers. At the end of the week he combines the bits into a soup base with crushed tomatoes, barley, pasta, spices and a little parmesan cheese.
The finished soup is then usually picked up by the Salvation Army, who then serve it at the free evening meal they put on every Thursday through Monday at their shelter on Washington Street in Binghamton.
"It always goes fast," said DiAnn Small, community services director at the Salvation Army in Binghamton, describing the reception Stone Soup has received at the Salvation Army's free evening dinner.
In 1999 Whole in the Wall won a National Humanitarian Award for their Stone Soup project.
Stone Soup Recipe
How to Make Stone Soup
How to Collect the "Stones":
The watchword is edible. Edible but not serviceable. Every time you cut a vegetable and have some good food left on the end. Any little scrap of food that might not be the right size or shape, but is perfectly good food. Any food that is perhaps a bit over ripe but would be fine cooked. Cut these foods in bite size chunks and freeze them in quart containers. When you've got 14 qt containers you're ready to roll.
How to Cook the Soup:
- Basically you can make any soup you want out of your stones. If its been a long day and you're not in a creative mood, here's how to cook mine (This stuff is painless, I swear it cooks itself!)
- Take the 14qts of Stones and dump it in a 4 1/2 gallon pot. Put the flame on high and cover.
- After about 10 minutes you should be able to separate the stones with a cooking spoon. Then add 1 can of crushed tomatoes (6lbs, 10oz) and 2 1/2 gallons of water. Stir.
- Keep the flame on high. When it comes to a boil, add 1 1/2 cups barley and 1 1/2 cups macaroni. Turn the flame down and simmer for 45 minutes.
- Add :
- 4 tablespoons Oregano
- 4 tablespoons Basil
- 4 tablespoons Granulated Garlic
- 5 tablespoons Salt
- 1/2 tablespoons Black Pepper
- 2 cups Dried Parsley Flakes.
- Stir and simmer an additional 15 minutes.
- Add 3 cups grated parmesan. Stir and pour into a 5 gallon bucket
Call your nearest Salvation Army outlet or local soup kitchen. They will come and pick it up. If you don't know who can take it, call Second Harvest at 1-800-344-8070.
Now pat yourself on the back. You're a good guy and you did your good deed for the day. That wasn't so hard, was it?
For a real feather in your cap, let your boss know that Stone Soup is tax deductible. Just have whoever the soup was donated to issue a letter stating the cash value of the ingredients. Now you're saving the guy $$$, maybe you'll get a raise!
NOTE: Businesses donating food are protected from any legal issues by the Good Samaritan Law.