On March 10, 2013, Three Jewish women - Miriam Bronstein, Sandi Malamud, and Harriet Zimmer launched Winnipeg Soup Sisters in support of Osborne House. Nearly 300 servings of delicious soup were delivered the very next morning to the women and children at Osborne House.

Osborne House, Winnipeg’s largest women’s shelter, empowers women and their children who are experiencing domestic abuse by providing them with a safe and supportive environment through residential and non-residential programs and services.

Explaining why she and her friends started Soup Sisters in Winnipeg, Miriam Bronstein explained, “I was at a Soup Sisters event in Ottawa with my daughter two years ago and it was so wonderful and I was so moved by the women who spoke from the shelter that I told the Ottawa organizer I would love to start a Winnipeg chapter when I retire. I had talked about it for two years and Sandi and Harriet said they wanted to start the group, as well.”

“We chose Osborne House because Harriet knew from past experience that Osborne House was quite a large first stage shelter with 47 beds. When the shelter received a call that we were supplying them with a freezer (that was donated by Cathy Moser and Jeff Itzkow) and making 300 bowls of soup each month they were very pleased to come on board.”

In Winnipeg, the soup-making events take place at the Winnipeg Fairmont Hotel with Executive Chef Jeremy Langemann in their commercial kitchen and have 30 people working hands on making soup. 

Winnipeg monthly dates are already fully booked from April until November 2013.

Soup Sisters and Broth Brothers is a social enterprise dedicated to providing comfort to women, children and youth through the making, sharing and donating of soup.

Soup Sisters and Broth Brothers operate 17 events in 12 cities across Canada every month. Hundreds of community people come together to produce over 8000 servings of home-made, nurturing and nourishing soups for women, children and youth every month.

Anyone can be a Soup Sister and a Broth Brother. Soup Sisters and Broth Brothers are year-round programs where participants pay a $50 registration fee to participate in a soup-making event at a local professional kitchen under the guidance of a chef facilitator.

Each event produces approximately 150-200 servings of nourishing soup that are delivered fresh to a local shelter. Events are social evenings with lively conversation, chopping, laughter and warm kitchen camaraderie that culminate in a simple, sit-down supper of soup, salad, bread and wine for all participants.

For more information or to book a soup making event contact [email protected]

Soup Sisters and Broth Brothers was founded in 2009 by Calgarian Sharon Hapton who had a very simple belief in the power of soup as a nurturing and nourishing gesture that could make a tangible difference. Hapton believed that two of society’s most prevalent issues, domestic abuse and youth homelessness would benefit from the care and warmth that comes in a bowl of soup.

Soup Sisters also has a cookbook The Soup Sisters Cookbook: 100 Simple Recipes to Warm Hearts . . . One Bowl at a Time edited by founder Sharon Hapton.