Allen D. Nease High School will host the second annual SOUPer Bowl Feb. 2 to raise money for First Coast Blessings in a Backpack.
To be held from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Nease PAC courtyard and cafeteria, the event will feature gourmet soups from more than 25 local restaurants, including the Ice Plant, M Shack, the Floridian, the Blue Bamboo, Gator’s Dockside, Palm Valley Outdoors and Sawgrass Marriott. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at studentstacklehunger.org. Donations are also being accepted via the event’s website.
Proceeds will benefit First Coast Blessings in a Backpack, a nonprofit organization that provides consistent weekend nutrition for children on the federal free and reduced meal program. The organization provides more than 145,236 meals a year to more than 600 children in St. Johns County. By providing consistent nutrition to these children, the nonprofit is working to avert issues like weaker immune systems, impaired neural development and lower academic achievement. Blessings in a Backpack estimates that it costs $100 to provide one student with meals for an entire school year.
In conjunction with Valley Ridge Academy and St. Johns Technical High School, Nease debuted the SOUPer Bowl event in 2016, raising more than $23,000, which provided weekend meals to 230 local children for a year.
SOUPer Bowl attendees this year will receive a custom made ceramic bowl crafted by students from Bartram Trail High School, St. Johns Technical School, Valley Ridge Academy, Palencia Elementary, Webster Elementary and Nease High School.
