La Soupe is on the fast track to help reduce the number of food insecure children in Cincinnati

Suzy DeYoung is perhaps best known for being the chef at La Petite Pierre, but she’s now tackling something else that she’s passionate about: food waste.

In 2014, DeYoung founded La Soupe, a nonprofit that seeks to feed the hungry with “leftover” food from local grocery stores, farms and restaurants. She takes all of that food and turns it into flavorful and inventive soups, which are then frozen and distributed to those in need.

On average, America wastes about 40 percent of the available food. In Cincinnati, this statistic is staggering because the childhood poverty rate is about double the national average, leaving many kids — and families — food insecure.

Last year, La Soupe saved about 125,000 pounds of produce from the landfill, and served 800 quarts a week through 47 participating agencies around the city during the school year. By July of this year, they’d already surpassed that amount of salvage, and expect to double it by the end of the year.

Click here to read more about La Soupe and DeYoung’s efforts to reduce food insecurity and waste in Cincinnati.