Don Saylor's Soup's On
Since its inception in 2004, there have been seventeen Soup's On gatherings, over 6,000 soup eaters, hundreds of sponsors and donors, plus immeasurable awareness and more than $400,000 raised for local nonprofits -- this is something for us all to be proud of!
Don Saylor held the first Soup’s On event in his home, serving soup made in his own kitchen, as an election campaign fundraiser. Over the years, the event evolved from a political fundraiser to one that brought the community together to support local nonprofits. Stemming from the tradition that we often gather as a community to support those in need with a pot of hot soup, Soup's On promptly became its own local tradition, bringing together the Yolo County community and regional partners to help strengthen the network of nonprofits in our area. The event quickly outgrew Don's kitchen and was soon bringing together over 400 community members every year to share a meal and support a worthy cause. One hundred percent of the Soup's On proceeds raised each year have gone directly to the benefiting organization. Soup's On beneficiaries throughout the years are listed below, along with links to their websites.
Soup's On, which has always been entirely run by volunteers, has featured live music from local bands, a celebration of the highlighted organization's good work, and a bowl of delicious soup for every attendee. After the early days in Don's kitchen, the event transformed into a potluck-style dinner with attendees bringing crockpots full of their own soup creations. After 65 crockpots overloaded the electrical circuits at one year's event, Soup's On evolved again and began partnering with local restaurants to provide larger quantities of donated soups. Over the years, 45 local businesses have donated food and beverages to this event. In its final years, Soup's On featured eight to ten different soups from amazing local donors, which are listed below, along with links to their websites.
Attendees of Soup’s On have included a range of elected officials, civic leaders, businesses, nonprofits, and community members. The visibility and awareness of the beneficiary generated by Soup's On has been one of the most exciting parts of hosting the event. Helping the benefiting nonprofit to continue to do their work, further their mission, and better support others is what Soup's On is all about. This video, A Recipe for Community: 17 Years of Don Saylor's Soup's On, produced by Autumn Labbe-Renault at Davis Media Access, tells the story of Soup's On from its early days to its final event in 2022.
On April 21, 2022, our community came together for the final Don Saylor's Soup's On event. Thanks to our many sponsors (shown below) and attendees, we raised $62,000 for the beneficiary, Davis Media Access (DMA). For years, this community-based media and technology center has done so much to amplify local voices, share information, and connect the people of our community. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, DMA helped us all to pivot our communication models, stay informed, and learn new ways of doing thing, all while facing their own challenges to survive the pandemic as an arts and culture organization. Through Soup's On, our community was able to support DMA, provide them with a hand up, and make sure they can continue their essential and important work into the future. This amazing video of Soup's On 2022 is a beautiful demonstration of their work and shows just how special the Soup's On community is.
Past Beneficiaries
Interfaith Rotating Winter Shelter
Enables member congregations to provide cold-weather shelter and hospitality on a rotating basis to homeless persons in the Davis community.
Tuleyome
Protects the wild and agricultural heritages of the Inner Coastal Range and Western Sacramento Valley for current and future generations.
Suicide Prevention of Yolo County
Provides crisis prevention and intervention, education, and community outreach services to the residents of Yolo County.
Yolo County’s Foster & Kinship Care Education Program
Provides quality education and training for care providers of children and youth in out-of-home care, enabling these providers to meet the child's educational, emotional, behavioral and developmental needs.
Yolo Food Bank’s Kids Farmers Market
Provides free weekly access to fresh fruits and vegetables through a fun, interactive farmers market-style distribution to over 700 preschool and elementary school students at seven schools in Yolo County.
Elderly Nutrition Program / Meals on Wheels
Delivers hot, nutritious lunches to our elders throughout Yolo County.
NAMI-Yolo
Organizes a grassroots program of education, advocacy and support dedicated to improving the lives of people with mental illness and their families.
Yolo Interfaith Immigration Network
Serves and advocates on behalf of immigrants in Yolo County. Programs include visitation of unaccompanied youth detained at Juvenile Hall and education programs at the Migrant Centers.
Empower Yolo
Provides specialized services in Yolo County to people who have experienced domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, dating violence, stalking, human trafficking and other forms of abuse.
Family Hui
Brings together groups of families with young children who live in close proximity to each other with the goal of interrupting cycles of abuse through a trauma-informed curriculum.
Putah Creek Council
Works to enhance and protect Putah Creek through advocacy, education and community stewardship.
Acme Theatre Company
A youth-run, non-profit theatre company that provides opportunities for young people to learn acting and technical theatre skills through peer and adult mentorship in an environment of mutual trust, respect, and responsibility.
A community media center serving Davis, Yolo County, and the surrounding areas with a mission to enrich and strengthen the community by providing alternatives to commercial media for local voices, opinions, and creative endeavors.
John Garamendi, US Congress, District 3
Mike Thompson, US Congress, District 5
Bill Dodd, CA State Senate, District 3
Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, CA State Assembly, District 4
Kelly Wilkerson, Los Rios CC District Trustee
Tom Lopez, Yolo County Sheriff
Lucas Frerichs, Vice-Mayor, City of Davis
Davis Firefighters Labor 3494
James & Deborah Durst
Consero Solutions
Davis Sunrise Rotary
Downey Brand
Jeff & Karin Pelz
Kaiser Permanente
Kind Farms
Stephen & Robin Souza
Yolo Family Farms
Oscar Villegas, Yolo County Supervisor, District 1
Jim Provenza, Yolo County Supervisor, District 4
Rich Lansburgh, Woodland City Council
Davis Cannabis Collective
Morse Custom Homes & Remodeling
Yolo County Children’s Alliance
Frate Sole Olive Oil
Davis Campbell
Linda Deos & Eva Brock
Lindsay Weston
Reed & Susan Youmans
Ramon & Karen Urbano
Tim Ainsworth
Tom Adams, Davis School Board
Inesita Arce, Yolo County Local Mental Health Board
Judith Arce, Yolo County Juvenile Justice Coordinating Committee
Lisa Baker, Winters Planning Commission
Angel Barajas, Yolo County Supervisor, District 5
James Barrett, Cache Creek Conservancy
Rachel Beck, Safe Yolo
Dan Carson, Davis City Council
Josh Chapman, Davis City Council
Robb Davis, Davis City Council (former)
Joe Dinunzio, Davis School Board
Elisabeth Dubin, Yolo County Planning Commission
Michelle Famula, Yolo County Health Council
Rebecca Fridae, Winters Friends of the Library
Woody Fridae, Winters City Council (former)/Historical Society of Winters
Bibiana Garcia, Woodland Joint Unified School Board
Tania Garcia-Cadena, Woodland City Council
Chris Kelsch, Yolo County Health Council
Mary Kimball, Center for Land-Based Learning
Nicki King, Yolo County Local Mental Health Board
Brett Lee, Davis City Council (former)
Jesse Loren, Winters City Council
Melissa Moreno, Yolo County Office of Education Board
Gloria Partida, Mayor, City of Davis
Gary Pelfrey, Yolo County Workforce Innovation Board
Cynthia Rodriguez, Candidate for Yolo County District Attorney
Xochitl Rodriguez, Woodland City Council (former)
Jesse Salinas, Yolo County Assessor, Clerk-Recorder, Elections Officer
Bob Schelen, Yolo County Local Mental Health Board
Christine Shewmaker, Valley Clean Energy Advisory Member
Meg Stallard, Yolo County Office of Education Board (former)
Tom Stallard, Woodland City Council
Rochelle Swanson, Davis City Council (former)
Erik Vink, Yolo County Flood Control & Water Conservation District
Marty West, Davis School Board (former)
Jake Whitaker, Woodland Joint Unified School Board
Mariko Yamada, California State Assembly (former)
Shelton Yip, Yolo County Office of Education Board
Carri & Jay Ziegler, Yolo County Health Council
