Wooster Soup and Bread partnership raises $12,000 to erase local school lunch debt

This spring, two groups at The College of Wooster joined forces to provide lunch debt relief for students enrolled in the free and reduced lunch program at Wooster City Schools. The partnership between the student organization the Wooster Volunteer Network (WVN) and the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Committee raised more than $12,000 through the WVN-run Soup and Bread program in the spring semester.

For more than 40 years, the Soup and Bread program has supported local nonprofit organizations by donating a portion of each meal swipe at weekly lunches (and occasional dinners). Past recipients include OneEighty, which provides addiction, domestic violence, and mental health services, and Trinity United Church of Christ’s free breakfast program. Wooster’s Creative Dining provides the soup most weeks, with Buehler’s Fresh Foods regularly donating pastries and bread as well as soup twice a year.

In January, the MLK Day Committee approached the WVN to suggest hosting a joint service event to reduce local school lunch debt as part of Wooster’s annual MLK Day celebration. The Jan. 22 lunch at Kittredge Hall was open to the public.

“We had guests from the school district, alumni, and the wider Wooster community in addition to folks on campus,” said Jake Marion, director of equity and belonging at the College. “This is a new partnership for the MLK Day Committee, but as one of the co-chairs, I’d like to see it continue in future years.”

The event was a success, raising over $1,100. However, the WVN executive board thought they could do more. In keeping with the mission of Soup and Bread, “to eat simply so others can simply eat,” WVN decided to donate all the proceeds from the entire semester to local school lunch debt.

“As a student at Wooster, I am privileged to receive a quality education. It is important to acknowledge that this education is occurring in an area where lots of students do not have this same access to this education,” said Bella Coenen ’26, WVN’s incoming president, who worked closely on the project with outgoing president Somarr Elliott ’25. “Cornerstone Elementary, right down the road from the College, has a 75% poverty rate. Education at all levels opens countless doors for young people. Being able to donate any amount toward this cause is fulfilling as it allows us to support the education of students in less privileged environments.”

Featured image: Somarr Elliott ’25, left, outgoing president of the Wooster Volunteer Network (WVN), and Bella Coenen ’26, right, WVN’s incoming president, tour the Buehler’s Fresh Foods facilities with Chief Financial Officer Peter O’Donnell. Buehler’s Fresh Foods regularly donates pastries, bread, and soup for the WVN-run Soup and Bread program. (Photo provided by Coenen)

Posted in News on June 26, 2025.