'Souper Heroes' provide soup to those in need at CTA stations -- and it goes fast
FOREST PARK, Ill. (CBS) -- Fighting back hunger one bowl at a time – that's the new mission of a new group, the Souper Heroes.
They pass out soup at CTA stations across the city and adjacent suburbs – and as CBS 2's Sabrina Franza reported Thursday night, their bowls are in such high demand that they run out in minutes.
"I don't want to say I'm a Souper Hero. Souper Hero is more of a concept. Obviously, we make soup – and we bring it out by any means necessary," said Souper Heroes founder Kenneth Purnell. "You know, like a hero comes out and saves the day? We're out here – rain, sleet, snow.
Purnell has made it his mission to help fight hunger in his city. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he would ride the train up and down until people started to rely on him and his soup.
The mission means more because of Purnell's own experience – a time when he needed a helping hand of his own.
"I'm a chef. I lost my job because of the pandemic. I got sober," he said, "and one of the things in AA they say to help to be sober is to find something to do – and I make soup."
Purnell once worked alone, but now, he has a team of volunteers helping hand out soup to the homeless two to three nights a week.
Each bowl comes with a smile – poured with a ladle and a helping hand.
"I don't want to sound selfish," Parnell said. "But helping them helps me."
Purnell estimates the Souper Heroes have served about 20,000 bowls so far. He is doing all this while enrolled at DePaul University and applying for law school.
To Purnell's surprise – or shall we say, soup-rise - they run out of stock in minutes, every time.
"Once I started doing it, I knew I wasn't going to stop – you know?" Purnell said. "They just kept coming – kept coming."
The Souper Heroes are always looking for volunteers and donations. They were at the Forest Park Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line terminal on Thursday, but their location does rotate.
They told us the fastest they have given out soup is 72 bowls in eight minutes.
