The Winter Warmth Drive is open — sleeping bags and tents needed.See the list

Give
Volunteers filling brown paper meal bags at a long table

Arcata & around — every single day

Forty brown bags.
Every day.
Driven out to
whoever needs one.

Humboldt Soup's On packs a full hot meal into a paper bag, and a team drives it out to the people who need it — in whatever weather Humboldt throws at us. Since 2023, not one day missed.

Pack a bag — give todayCome out with a team

$25 packs 20 bags for tomorrow

50,000+

hot meals handed over since 2023 — one bag, one neighbor at a time.

  • Not one day missed

    Rain, wind, holidays. Every day since 2023.

  • ~1,500 calories

    In every bag. A real meal, not a snack.

  • A new team daily

    Different volunteers cook, pack and drive each day.

  • Nothing comes back

    Leftovers go out again in downtown Arcata.

A bowl of hot soup held in two hands
packed that same afternoon

The daily meal program

What's actually in a Soup's On bag

Not a snack, and not a voucher for something later. A full dinner, in a paper bag, handed straight over.

  • A hot entrée — soup, chowder, or a casserole, depending on the day
  • Bread on the side
  • Something sweet — because a meal should end well
  • Water to go with it

≈1,500 calories

in every single bag

Our story

Everybody calls us
the Soup Ladies

For the first two years, people came to us. We set up in a spot, got moved on, set up somewhere else. Then winter would hit — wind taking the easy-ups, rain coming sideways — and people had to leave whatever shelter they'd found just to get a meal.

“Last October we decided, to heck with this — we're going mobile.”

Carrie Donohue, Humboldt Soup's On

So now the food travels. Every bag is packed in the afternoon, loaded into cars, and driven out across the area by that day's team. Whatever hasn't been handed over by the end of the run goes out again in downtown Arcata — nothing comes back.

Read the whole story
Redwood forest in Humboldt CountyThree Soup's On volunteers smiling behind the food containers

Ways to give

You can put a hot meal in someone's hands tomorrow

Give once, or every month. Choose what your gift pays for — food, winter gear, or whatever the day needs most.
  • Every bag is packed and handed over by a volunteer — no paid delivery in between.
  • Prefer to give things instead of money? The wish list is always current.

Give a bag

Pick an amount. Every one of these is a real number of meals.

Put it towards
Give $50 on PayPal

You'll confirm the amount on PayPal's secure page. Card, PayPal or Venmo.

Tax-deductible · Tax ID 99-1695234

Rather give every month? Join the Souper Stars — $50 a month.

Open now · Winter Warmth Drive

Some of what we need isn't money

Wish lists used to go up on Facebook and scroll away by the afternoon. Now they live here, and they stay current all season.

Running a collection at your business, church, or classroom? Tell us what you're planning and we'll get you set up.

Host a driveAsk what's needed today

This winter we need —

  • Sleeping bags
  • Tents & tarps
  • Warm blankets

Drop-offs by arrangement — email or call(707) 672-9947 and we'll make sure someone's there.

Two volunteers smiling as they serve soup into paper cups

Volunteer

A different team goes out every single day

Cook, pack or drive with one of the daily teams, or bake and chop on your own schedule. No experience needed, and nobody does it alone.
1–2 hrs
a week, your pick of day
12–3pm
cook, pack and drive
All week
seven days, every week
Put my name downWhat a shift looks like