Hot soup makes for a great way to warm up on a cold, cold day, and that concept is being harnessed once again to help keep warm hundreds of people who are experiencing homelessness.
Tickets are available for the 13th Annual BEDS Plus Soup and Bread fundraiser, set for Feb. 2 at Holiday Inn West Banquets, 6201 Joliet Road, Countryside.
The benefit, which last year drew 1,000 people, will last from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. All proceeds will go towards the La Grange-based nonprofit dedicated to helping those facing homelessness and housing instability.
“Every year we try to keep it the same and make it a little different, all at the same time,” said Erin Molek, BEDS Plus development manager. “This year, most importantly, we have 23 local restaurants supplying soup. It’s just just a great array of different soups that we’re really excited about this year.”
Molek said organizers have also gotten the support of adult beverage purveyors, who will be providing “our spirits, our breweries, our libations, and our mixed cocktails.”
“It’s just so great to get the community behind it, because that allows us to do an event and still keep our prices down so people can attend,” she said. “We can still raise a good amount of money to help those in need who struggle with housing insecurity.”
Antonino’s Ristorante in La Grange will be one of the soup purveyors at the BEDS Plus fundraiser Soup and Bread on Feb. 2, at the Countryside Holiday Inn. (Hank Beckman/Pioneer Press)
Molek said about 90% of the funds raised at Soup and Bread would go toward helping the people served by BEDS Plus.
Tickets for the event are $30 and include a ceramic soup mug. Children under 8 will be admitted free of charge. Tickets can be purchased at www.classy.org.event/beds-plus-soup-and-bread-2025. The ticket price covers the soup and complimentary coffee and soft drinks. Alcoholic beverages are $5 per ticket, or 5 for $20.
The 23 different soups will be prepared and donated by participating restaurants, many from the La Grange area, but also from as far away as Summit and Evergreen Park. Many participating restaurants have been regulars at Soup and Bread over the years, and include Antonino’s, Blackberry Market, Irish Times Pub, and Prasino.
But others will be participating for the first time, including Happier Now Cafe in La Grange Park and Marco’s Kitchen in La Grange’s downtown business district.
Andrea Slivka, owner/chef at Happier Now, talked about the Polish chicken soup she will bring to the fundraiser and the process of creating it.
“Growing up, my dad did a Slovak style matzo ball soup,” she said. “The Polish chicken soup I actually had a few years ago at a restaurant near where I live in Ukrainian Village. Then I started Googling different recipes, and it’s sort of a combination of different soups, with me adding different ingredients and kind of making it my own.”
Slivka, a La Grange Park native, wanted to do the Soup and Bread benefit last year, but was in the process of opening the business and didn’t have enough time.
“We are about the community and I want to make sure everybody has a warm place to stay, especially in this weather,” she said.
Guests will be entertained by musical artists such as The Vaughn Building, the August James Band, Crows of Fury, and an open mike session, and there also will be kid-friendly activities.
Molek spoke of the growing need for services in the southwest suburbs for people challenged by housing insecurity, noting that when she first started with BEDS Plus a decade ago, their shelter usually kept about 35 people protected from the elements.
“We were serving a smaller population, and we’ve just exponentially grown,” she said. “We’ve impacted over 5,000 lives this year with services and housing, part of that safety net we’re always talking about in the community.
“We want to be able to keep doing that, and those private dollars and the help of the community really makes a big difference. Now we’re literally putting someone in housing every 24 hours. We housed over 360 people last year.”
The event relies on more than participating restaurants, and its sponsors include presenting sponsor Linda Sokol Francis, E.A., Marquette Bank, Rockpile Strategies, Lyons Township Mental Health Commission, C.J. Erickson Plumbing, Stantec, Burger Night Out, Towers Racing, and the First National Bank of Brookfield.
More information on BEDS Plus, including how to make donations,is at beds-plus.org.
Hank Beckman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.