OUR VALUES
Built on three words: JUST. GOOD. SOUP.
The Problem
An economy of exploitation.
From the laborers in the field, to the truck drivers transporting our food across the country, to the children working overnight shifts in factories - there is a shadow work force in this country that keeps our economy humming. But at what price? Abuse, sexual assault, stolen wages, and worse. No protections, no safety nets, no recourse - in America, in 2023. Also, while our current industrial food system feeds millions of people, it’s also responsible for extraordinary waste, deforestation, and climate change. How did we get here, and more importantly, how can fix it?
We believe that together - with you, the consumer - we can be a part of the solution.
We believe in food justice.
Food Justice in the Fields
Soupergirl is proud to be the first packaged goods company to obtain a Fair Food certification. The Fair Food Program ensures humane wages and working conditions for the people who feed our families. Stolen wages (sometimes slavery), sexual assault, brutal working conditions (lack of shade and water), and worse are all too common in the fields of industrial farms in America. The Fair Food Program fights back. Workers who are employed on Fair Food certified farms are able to do their jobs with dignity, protection, and recourse. Soupergirl is working hand in hand with the Fair Food team to expand the program to more farms, consumer goods companies, restaurants, and retailers.
Food Justice in Our Community
Unfortunately, so many in the food world - from hospitality workers to farm laborers live without safety nets or any government assistance during times of crisis. Soupergirl has partnered with a number of non-profit organizations that focus on assisting these specific members of our community. From the DC Food Project, to Following Francis, Soupergirl has donated thousands of gallons of soup to community members in need.
Food Justice in the Workplace
Justice starts at home. Soupergirl provides all full time employees with fully subsidized health insurance, paid time off, paid maternity leave, sick leave, and most importantly, a respectful and safe work environment. And we ask the same of our partners.
Food Justice for the World
The earth provides for us, but we have neglected to return the same respect. At Soupergirl, we try to do better, with every bowl of soup we cook. We compost 100% of our scraps, drastically reducing waste and food in landfills. We are certified plastic-neutral through a partnership with rePurpose global. We source “ugly” produce that would have otherwise ended up in the garbage. And most importantly, we are 100% vegan. Reducing your meat consumption is the number one way to reduce your climate impact.
Join us in the fight for food justice - one bowl of soup at a time.
Treat others as you would like to be treated. In our view - the word “others” includes people, air, water, animals, you, me - all of us.
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Encouraging Local Businesses
Our local purchases from farms and businesses help our region thrive and grow. We also proudly source many ingredients from smaller, women-owned businesses.
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Plastic Neutral
To be clear, we hate plastic – with a passion. Soupergirl is officially certified Plastic Neutral. We know it’s not a perfect solution, but it’s a start as we try to find a way around our plastic use.
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Clean Energy
Sourcing clean electricity is a great place to reduce one’s carbon footprint. Soupergirl sources much of its electricity from solar panels on our roof! We're also working with Maryland MEP on reducing our energy footprint! We're also proud members of the Maryland Green Registery.
Our Awesome Partners
Questions? We’ve got answers
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Soupergirl has always prided ourselves in providing a safe and respectable working environment. During Covid, we kicked everything into high gear. Once we realized that we were asking our team members to defy CDC orders, leave their homes, and keep cooking healthy food for a locked-down country, we implemented an array of efforts to keep everyone safe and secure. Efforts included:
Implementing a fully subsidized health insurance plan for all full time staff members. We believe that health insurance is a right, not a privilege. Period.
We brought in a disease specialist to test our team weekly for Covid. We were able to prevent dangerous outbreaks in our facilities because of our rigorous testing protocol.
Obtained K95 masks and face shields (not easy at the start!) for everyone.
Provided additional masks and thermometers for all team members to take home and use with their families.
Pulled our team off of public transportation and provided bonuses for car-pools.
Provided additional food for our team to enable them to reduce shopping trips and time in the supermarket.
In addition, everyone at Soupergirl is provided with paid time off, sick leave, and a living wage. As we grow, we will continue to expand the benefits that we can provide to the Souper team.
What does Soupergirl do to create a safe and fair working environment? -
We don’t want to pull the curtain back too much, but… a lot of large food companies use frozen, pre-chopped vegetables to “cook” (toss in a vat with some salt??). Soupergirl, on the other hand, knows many of our farmers. We know how our vegetables were grown, how the laborers were treated, and how the food made its way to us. Once it arrives at Soupergirl, our team peels, chops, de-seeds, and gets cooking. That pumpkin won’t peel itself! Hand-crafted means literally peeled, chopped, stirred, cooked - by hand!
What does hand-crafted mean? -
If you didn’t know, we hate plastic, and we’re proud to say Soupergirl is now certified Plastic Neutral by rePurpose Global. This means for every product we sell, we are donating a percentage towards vetted programs that will collect and recycle as much plastic waste from the environment as we use in our packaging and operations. In addition to reducing our plastic use wherever possible, this partnership with rePurpose Global allows us to fund cutting-edge recycling, support ethical wages for marginalized waste workers in India, and ultimately reduce plastic leakage into landfills and waterways. By doing so, we are proud to announce that every Soupergirl purchase will now carry a Net Zero Plastic Footprint. Learn more about our Plastic Neutral Guarantee at https://repurpose.global/. To be clear, this is just a step. Our goal is to become plastic-free as soon as possible. Stay tuned for updates!
What’s Plastic Neutral? -
Amazing question! Responsible sourcing is one of our driving values. We work with a variety of regional producers and growers including Garners Produce, Lancaster Farm Coop, and more. We are also proud partners of our family-owned and operated produce suppliers, Pete Pappas and Sons, who have their own Fair Food certified farm in TN!
We also work with a number of values focused, women-owned, local brands when it comes to other ingredients. Highlights include:
Our tahini is made by Soom, a Philadelphia-based company owned by three sisters (who happened to go to the same high school as Soupergirl!).
Loving our desserts, challah, and croutons? We love working with Sticky Fingers Bakery, a local, woman-owned vegan bakery that operates out of our old location in Takoma!From where does Soupergirl source their ingredients and produce? -
We’ve partnered with Arcadia to reduce our carbon footprint by using wind-generated power in our flagship location in Takoma. Also, we’ve partnered with Compost Cab, a Washington, DC based business that collects food scraps all over the city and turns them into high quality soil for area farmers. To put things in perspective - Soupergirl processes THOUSANDS of pounds of butternut squash per week in the winter. We end up with hundreds of pounds of seeds, scraps, and peels. Rather than wrapping everything in plastic and dumping them into a landfill (terrible for the earth!), we compost them, creating a circular system! To learn more about the benefits of composting, visit the EPA’s website.
How is Soupergirl helping to reduce carbon emissions? -
Food insecurity has only grown across the country in the wake of the pandemic. Soupergirl has partnered with a number of area organizations to help ensure that everyone in our community has a warm meal to eat at the end of every day. We’re particularly proud of our work that provides healthy meals to area children.
Soupergirl donates hundreds of units of soup to our neighbors in need each week. Partners include: Yad Yehuda (an organization providing food assistance to our kosher neighbors in need); the Storehouse, Maryland's first Black run food bank located in our new neighborhood in Lanham, MD; and Carpenter's House, a shelter located in Alexandria, VA.
How is Soupergirl helping to fight food insecurity?
