I spent my early childhood living in poverty and subsequently have worked with women and children who live in poverty for over thirty years. I believe food, housing and unconditional love is an inalienable human right. In creating HSO, I am sharing my love of cooking and feeding with a wonderful group of like minded folks. We can’t rid our community of homelessness but we can make a difference by coming back every day with a warm meal, a welcome smile and certain sense of commonality.

I’m the Co Founder of Humboldt Soup’s On, along with Jaime. I can’t cook a thing, and never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d become a “Soup Lady!” I absolutely adore our team, our cause and the people and dogs we serve. Spay neuter is my deal, so I multi-task in the group. I’m an Arcata native, the mother of ten and the grandmother of two. I’m a fierce advocate of the unhoused.

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“Hello everyone, I am so happy to be volunteering with Humboldt Soup’s On, who serve the local people who are in need of a meal. My background is in social work, and I am very impressed with the hard work and dedication of this new organization. May we continue to grow and provide what we can.”

Tess Coffman is a retired math teacher who's favorite hobby is cooking. That makes her a great fit with our organization! She cooks and serves food and really loves to connect with our patrons and their dogs. She likes to be out chatting with our folks but also finds time to serve as Secretary/Treasurer for Humboldt Soup's On.

Aisha has lived in Humboldt County most of her life and is grateful to be able to do something tangible in the way of baking bread to help feed our unhoused community members.

Our “Flo,” has worked on trail maintenance, as a rock stone mason, and a backcountry cook in Yosemite, Stanislaus and Tahoe

Flo moved back home to Humboldt to care for her mother who had suddenly become ill, several years ago.

She has been a caregiver ever since.

“I enjoy hiking, biking, creating art, fine woodworking, cooking and enjoying nature.

I love cooking and have found making soup for Humboldt Soup’s On, has energized my passion. I really enjoy the great energy of this group, and how dedicated everyone is, including the multiple donors. It's wonderful to see the people in Valley West smile, after getting something hot, nutritious and delicious to eat.”

“Hey! We are Beth and Dylan. We recently moved to Humboldt County from Georgia and have been enjoying getting to know the area. We enjoy hiking, walking our dogs at the local parks, and generally enjoying nature! We are excited to be working with Humboldt Soups On as cooks and servers. We believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to have a warm meal each day and want to do our part to make it so!”

Jim’s an accomplished chainsaw sculpture& a jack of all trades, Sallie owns and operates a cleaning business and her love language is cooking and absolutely loves to feed people. Together they share a passion to serve food made with love to the unhoused community. The joy it brings to our heart to help our community members is undescribable. We are so happy to be part of humboldt soups on.”

 Our dear, Lee Berrey is radiant. Her pure heart and love for those less fortunate is something that words cannot describe. Proud to call Lee a friend, and grateful to have her on our soup team.

“My name is Lee Berrey . I am 65 years old married 45 years. Mother of 3 adult children and grandmother of 4. I work full time at Wells Fargo Bank .I love volunteering at St Vincent De Paul on my days off and on Holidays. I also volunteer with Humboldt Soup 's On feeding the house-less. I love helping the less fortunate and giving back to the community. ”

Sophia Pelafigue has been helping to serve with Sally and Jim on Sundays. She works at Pacific Union School, loves to garden and spend time hiking with her dog. She loves living in arcata and believes everyone has a right to be well fed, treated with dignity, and supported. She marvels at what an amazing system that Soups On has managed to create for Arcata’s most marginalized populations and loves and appreciates the great people who are involved.

“Hello! My name is Debi. I am a Humboldt gal who loves painting, gardening, and hiking. I am also a foodie who loves to cook. I am blessed to have met an abundance of wonderful caring people here on the North Coast. I am honored to be a part of the Soups On group.”

“Hi, I’m Jessica! I was born and raised in Humboldt County, and I’ve always been a firm believer that a community can only thrive when everyone invests time and effort into making it a better place. I initially got involved in Humboldt Soup’s On hoping for an occasional outlet for my stress baking and baked my first batch of bread for the group on New Year’s Day - a few breads and desserts later, I jumped into the role of Dog Food Person! I have a soft spot for animals (especially senior dogs!) and handling donated dog food by portioning it up, keeping track of inventory, and delivering it allows me to spread some of that love amongst pups of all ages.”

​“I came to live in Humboldt County in August, 2013, after retiring from a job in Silicon Valley. I love being here and all the access to nature. I have two adult daughters one living here and the other lives in Chico. I enjoy working outside in the yards, there always seems to be one project or another. I enjoy exploring new places, camping and reading. I appreciate everything Humboldt Soup’s On does and I’m glad to be a part of it.

“Now retired, I have the opportunity to indulge in the things I enjoy - gardening, camping, cooking, endless home improvement projects and travel. Prior to my retirement I was a Realtor and helped find housing for my clients. Now I am in the position of serving those whose only housing may be a tent or tarp on a river bar or a parking lot.

My entry into Humboldt Soup’s On began as a donor and morphed into a server thanks to the nudging of Jan Carr. Like many of us, I had minimal contact with the unhoused. Working with these individuals has enabled me to meet them where they are and begin to understand the varied circumstances that brought them here as well as their sense of community with one another.

I continue to marvel how HSO has relatively quickly become an organization with cooks, bakers, servers, bookkeepers, web designers , an implentor for our non profit status and donors. It’s a great group to be a part of!”