Excited hardly begins to describe how I feel about today. Years ago, when I started swapping soup with my pals in Seattle as way to overcome my boredom with big pots of soup I’d never have guessed it would have turned into a day that, for me, rivals Thanksgiving or my birthday on the calendar.
I wanted to take this opportunity to offer an very heartfelt thank you to all of you that are participating today.
I was reminiscing with a friend who was at those very first soup swaps in my tiny Seattle garden cottage when I was 28 or 29 and still working out an easy swapping system. She said this about those awkward swaps, “Yes, we were younger then, and skinnier, and we rode our bicycles everywhere and then smoked cigarettes and oh, life was beautiful.”
How fast time flies and surprising to be forty with so many different things in my life, but “Wow!” how life is still beautiful on National Soup Swap Day.
Soup Swap, while still an obvious way to fill a freezer with tasty homemade soup, has really taught me about how communities of friends and families create traditions around food and sharing. It has shown me plenty of bravery as people try new recipes and come together trusting strangers in their homes to offer their creations. And it taught me repeatedly how we often have much more in common than the differences that are used to divide and segment us.
I love how all across the country people are taking this simple idea, tweaking it to what works best for them, and then sharing their creativity and graciousness with not only those around them, but with all of us here on the Internet. I’ve lost count this year on how many Soup Swaps are happening tonight or this week, but suffice to say, a quick scan on the nets reveals the idea has spread far and wide and continues to grow.
Plenty of you that have been with us for four or five years, know we’re still having some issues with the site. However, a couple days ago, I took a deep breath about that, because while helpful, it’s not what really matters— there will always be Soup Swap Six to get all those fancy site features working! Nope, instead what really matters is that we just celebrate what we’re doing today! Sharing. Meeting neighbors. Being creative. Having a few laughs. Giving.
We’re on Twitter today and tweeting with #soupswap and it’s easier to post a picture or update on Facebook than the site this year. Like always, you’re welcome to email me directly with any pictures, recipes or Soup Swap reports or invites and we’ll get them up as soon as we can right here.
Happy National Soup Swap Day!!!!
hey Knox! Who says you can’t be over 40 and ride your bike everywhere and smoke cigarettes (even though you know you shouldn’t) and be skinny??
I digress. We’re just about to start Soup Swap ’11 here in Long Beach, and we’re all hungry and excited. Will let you know how it goes. Enjoy the soup tonight!
What about chili? I cook that more often than anything after spaghetti sauce. Have seen more chili contests here than soup things. Is it the same or different?
@AMalePoet I’ve seen chili at every soup swap I’ve been to. In fact, at this year’s swap I picked up a Texas chili with cornbread on the side!
Heard about your soup swap this year on the actualy day–January 22nd–so it was too late for me to organize one. But I’m glad I looked you up and will definitely be planning one for next year and letting my readers know about it too. Love the idea!
[...] soup flame. Instead, they coordinated. East coast and west both held a swap on the same day – and National Soup Swap Day was [...]
We changed your rules a little bit. We turned National Soup Swap into a SOUP ONLY PotLuck. Have had as many as 12 different soups to feed up to 28 people….