Strategic Plan Executive Summary
FISCAL YEAR 2025 - 2027
For the past decade, La Soupe has been successfully tackling two of today’s biggest challenges -- food waste and hunger. Our founder, Chef Suzy DeYoung, is a fierce advocate of changing our current food system to improve everyone's well-being. Her vision to reclaim food destined for the landfill, transform it into restaurant quality soupes and meals by professionally trained chefs, and deliver them to underserved communities is so effective that it has inspired other organizations to follow suit
Since our inception we have grown significantly, moving from a 900 sq ft facility in Newtown to a 15,000 sq ft space in Walnut Hills We’ve diverted over 7 million pounds of food from landfills, and shared 4.5 million nourishing servings with families in need through hundreds of community partners Our achievements over the past decade have been made possible by the steadfast support of countless volunteers, dedicated staff, nonprofit partners, and Cincinnati’s philanthropic community, including foundations, corporations, and individual donors
As we look to the future, our executive leadership team has worked closely with our board, community partners, government representatives, volunteers, and staff to develop a three-year strategic plan for FY 25-27 to drive an even greater impact in the Greater Cincinnati region and beyond As we enter our second decade of operations, we are inspired to create healthier communities by reducing landfill waste, sharing nourishment, providing culinary education, and sharing our model nationwide
MISSION
La Soupe bridges the gap between food waste and hunger by transforming surplus ingredients into nutritious meals for those in need through the power of chefs
STRATEGIC PLAN
VISION
A future where no food is wasted, communities are nourished, and people and the environment thrive together
CORE VALUES
We believe in exemplary quality and safety, agile creativity, dignified inclusivity, community collaboration, and dynamic sustainability We operate with kindness, communitycentered decision making, transparency, and action-oriented leadership
La Soupe will continue to focus on our foundational Rescue, Transform, Share model, expand our Culinary Education and Food as Medicine programs, and scale the Rescue Kitchen Network nationally We’ll achieve this through our core strengths, including innovative chef-led production, strong community and culinary partnerships, an engaged volunteer network, and a commitment to employee well-being and the environment
Our ambitions are bold, but we firmly believe this plan positions La Soupe to significantly expand our impact through a collaborative approach to addressing food insecurity while reducing food waste, strengthening community resilience, and building a sustainable organization for long-term success
OUR FY 27 GOALS
Increase production of high-quality meals to 2M servings (60% increase) annually using 1.8M pounds of food diverted from landfills (40% increase) to feed our neighbors most in need
Engage 3,000 students annually in culinary education programs focused on self-sufficiency and healthy habits to combat long-term food insecurity
Share 40,000 medically tailored meals with patients living with chronic diseases annually to address health disparities
Recruit and retain 17 partners into a national Rescue Kitchen Network, producing a combined 5M servings per year
Be a key partner in meeting Greater Cincinnati’s environmental and community health goals to tackle food waste and hunger
Achieve financial sustainability with $4M in annual funding by FY 27
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
Food Rescue & Distribution
Increase food rescue through strategic early supply chain relationship building (manufacturers and distributors)
Ensure that 100% of Cincinnati neighborhoods facing food insecurity have public access to La Soupe offerings
Maintain >90% of all servings produced are distributed to agencies serving those struggling with food insecurity
Achieve a 98% diversion rate from landfills from all rescued products
Program Growth
Rescue • Transform • Share: Focus services on those most affected by systemic barriers to food security, particularly youth, families, elderly, and economically disadvantaged populations
Culinary Education: Offer culturally diverse culinary opportunities for students through 4 varied education programs
Food as Medicine: Collaborate with key healthcare partners to deliver meals to diabetes and heart health patients
Rescue Kitchen Network: Expand offerings to include the Capacity Building Accelerator, pre-accelerator support, and a national network for graduates and established commissaries
Operational Excellence
Expand ready-to-eat meal creation with expanded hours, improved efficiency, and increased volunteer utilization
Implement quality and safety assurance measures and invest in top culinary and professional talent
Complete a brand refresh, launch a new website, and strengthen our external mission-focused event outreach
Develop robust IT, donor, grant, and volunteer management systems
Financial Sustainability
Strengthen diversified funding streams generating $450k annually through retail, events, programs, and investments
Expand philanthropy through meaningful donor engagement, planned and corporate giving, and strategic grant writing
Maintain 12 months of operating reserve
Organizational Development
Build on workforce development, employee well-being, and leadership capacity
Expand the board to 9 directors focusing on impact, governance, and philanthropy
Strengthen HR policies with a Justice, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion strategy
Enhance cross-functional collaboration, local and national partnerships, and systems integration
WHAT WE NEED TO SUCCEED
Capital and Infrastructure: Dock height truck, program-specific software, facilities expansion into full basement
Sustained funding: Increase annual contributions by $1M over 3 years
Strong staff and board succession to carry programming into the future
Advocates for private, city, county, and state funding to support our work
Agency collaboration to ensure all food rescued is utilized to its highest potential
National champions for large-scale food rescue, our mission, and model