17th annual Soup’s On Luncheon and Art Show

Nearly 700 attendees gathered at the 17th annual Soup’s On Luncheon and Art Show benefiting The Stewpot, held at Thompson Dallas on Monday, January 27. Co-chairing the annual fundraising event hosted by The Stewpot Alliance benefiting The Stewpot were Dallas community leaders Buddy Jordan and Isabell and Philip Higginbotham. WFAA anchor Cynthia Izaguirre emceed the luncheon. Since 2008, Soup’s On has raised more than $5 million for homeless and at-risk individuals in Dallas. The Stewpot is a ministry of First Presbyterian Church of Dallas (FPC Dallas). 

Philip and Isabell Higginbotham, Buddy Jordan

The event featured an art show including 100 curated pieces of original art created by 22 artists from The Stewpot Art Program, soups by 10 local celebrity chefs, and an inspiring message from luncheon speaker Nicholas Kristof, all thoughtfully woven together in celebration of The Stewpot’s 50th anniversary. Soup’s On served as a kickoff for a year full of celebrating “50 Years of Loving Our Neighbors” and highlighting The Stewpot’s long tradition of love in action.

Brenda Snitzer, Nicholas Kristof, Cynthia Izaguirre and Rev. Amos Disasa

Featured speaker Nicholas Kristof, a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and best-selling author, captivated the audience and praised the Dallas community and The Stewpot’s progress in helping people rise above poverty and homelessness. Kristof led the guests to sing “Happy Birthday” in celebration of the nonprofit's 50th anniversary. He applauded The Stewpot in helping Dallas reduce unsheltered homelessness by 24%.

“Drops in the buckets – that’s how you fill buckets. That’s how you change the world,” Kristof said during his inspirational remarks.

Brenda Snitzer, executive director of The Stewpot, addressed that the nonprofit has outgrown its space and programs have tripled in size. FPC Dallas recently acquired the four-acre campus previously operated by CitySquare, whose operations ceased in late 2024. The Stewpot is in the process of moving to the campus and has taken on two of CitySquare’s core programs—the Food Pantry and Neighborhood Resource Center, which support 14,000 people annually. 

For the 17th year, Chef Brian C. Luscher of 33 Restaurant Group (Union Bear, Taverna Rossa, Seager & Sons etc.), along with nine other local chefs, created soups in honor of The Stewpot’s legacy of feeding the hungry. Among them were: Jeff Bekavac (Goodwins), J. Chastain (Sister, The Charles, Carlos Elegante), Omar Flores (Even Coast, Muchacho), Michael Haynes (The Stewpot), Danyele McPherson (Purple Collar Kitchen, Goodwins), Janice Provost (Parigi), Anastacia Quiñones-Pittman (José), Jeramie Robison (Thompson Dallas) and Abraham Salum (Salum).

Andrea Meyer with Brian and Courtney Luscher

Since its founding in 1975 to feed people on the streets downtown, The Stewpot has served more than 8.7 million meals. It has also grown to provide comprehensive services and a community of support for people experiencing poverty and homelessness, including programs that stabilize, house and enrich the lives of Dallas neighbors. These include helping people recover over 112,000 vital ID documents to access services and employment, funding 233 four-year scholarships for college or vocational school since 1991 and helping provide housing for 320 people since its rapid rehousing program began in 2021.