Our team
Everyone here is a volunteer
Nobody at Humboldt Soup's On is paid. The cooking, packing, driving, baking and chopping are all done by people from the community who give an hour or two a week. Most of us are retired, and most of us are women, which is how we ended up being called the Soup Ladies.
Who runs it
A small team keeps the days running
A small management team meets every Wednesday evening to plan the weeks ahead.
Executive Director
Jan Carr
Jan co-founded Humboldt Soup's On in November 2023 and has led it since. At the end of every run she takes whatever bags are left into downtown Arcata, so none of the food comes back.
The daily teams
Five jobs, seven days a week
People join and leave as their lives change, so we don't keep a page of names and bios. What stays the
same are the jobs, and there's always room for one more.
new faces every week — come say hi
Daily teams
- Cooks
- Make the day's soup, chowder or casserole in our commercial kitchen.1–2 hours a week, between 12–3pm
- Packers
- Fill forty brown bags: entrée, bread, something sweet and a water.1–2 hours a week, between 12–3pm
- Drivers
- Load up and drive the route, looking for people who could use a meal.1–2 hours a week, between 12–3pm
Food prep
- Bakers
- Bake the bread and desserts that go into every bag.A set day, picked around your schedule
- Choppers
- Wash and chop the fruit and vegetables that go into the meals.At home whenever suits you, or at our kitchen Noon–2pm
On the job
Some of the people who make it happen
There's a spot on a team for you
An hour or two a week. No experience needed.