The Original SoupMan Partners With World Hunger Year and New York City Coalition Against Hunger

NEW YORK, Feb. 25, 2009 — Soup Kitchen International, the creators of the Zagat-rated soups of Al Yeganeh, the legendary soup man who inspired the "Soup Episode" on Seinfeld, today announced a partnership with World Hunger Year (WHY) and the New York City Coalition Against Hunger (NYCCAH) to continue Yeganeh's long-standing tradition of helping New Yorkers in need. "Al's Feed the Hungry Foundation," The Original SoupMan's non-profit charity headed up by Major League Baseball Hall of Fame legend, Reggie Jackson, will donate 800 gallons of soup to three soup kitchens: New York City Rescue Mission, Union United Methodist Church, and Bowery Mission. To commemorate the donation to the three soup kitchens, WHY, NYCCAH and The Original SoupMan will be holding a media event on Wednesday, February 25 at 12 pm at the New York City Rescue Mission located at 90 Lafayette St in New York, NY. As a special guest, Lisa Bouchelle, one of WHY's "Artists Against Hunger and Poverty", will be on hand to perform the single, "Time", featured on WHY's "Serve3" benefit album.

"We at WHY have always believed that the root cause of hunger is poverty and the root cause of poverty is powerlessness", said Bill Ayres, Co-Founder and Executive Director of WHY. "We are happy today to participate in an act of generosity that will help to feed thousands of hungry people. What we and all our fellow citizens need to do every day is to call on our government to create living-wage jobs and to fund job support programs that empower people to be self-reliant".

Said Joel Berg, Executive Director of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger: "As our Annual Survey showed, emergency food providers throughout the City are in desperate need of food and agencies certainly appreciate the Original SoupMan's help in these difficult economic times. Given that 1.3 million New Yorkers are forced to use emergency feeding programs every year, however, we continue to stress that the federal government is the only entity capable of ending hunger. Citizens can and must push President Obama and his administration to fulfill their campaign promises to end child hunger by 2015 as a down payment on ending all domestic hunger. We cannot let 'yes, we can' become 'yes, we could have.'

"Although 400 cases of soup will feed about 20,000 people, the media event is also being held to raise awareness of the fact that donations are only a small measure to help the hunger problems in the tri-state area. The New York City Coalition Against Hunger and World Hunger Year both emphasize that the government must increase the availability of food stamps, WIC, affordable housing and other programs.

About The Original SoupMan
Founded in 1984, legendary soup man, Al Yeganeh, set the standard for delicious, world-renowned soups at his New York City location, Soup Kitchen International. Now, with the international growth of his restaurants, The Original Soup Man, Al and his team will give the whole world the opportunity to experience soup as it was meant to be. The Original SoupMan soups are also available in convenient, heat-n-serve packages in the frozen section of major grocery stores nationwide. To learn more, visit www.ORIGINALSOUPMAN.com.

About Al's Feed the Hungry Foundation:
Continuing Al Yeganeh's long standing tradition of giving back to the less fortunate, each time a new Original SoupMan location opens, a donation is made to a local hunger charity on behalf of "Al's Feed the Hungry Foundation," a registered 501 (c) organization. Since its 2005 inception, Yeganeh's hunger charity has donated over $55,000 to local hunger charities throughout the U.S. and Canada.

About World Hunger Year (WHY)
More than 35.5 million people in the U.S., including 12.6 million children, live in households that struggle to feed their families. Every day WHY helps thousands of America's hungry connect to food pantries, soup kitchens, shelter, and government programs in their neighborhoods by providing immediate help via the National Hunger Hotline 1-866-3-HUNGRY. WHY also supports the work of more than 8,750 community-based organizations working on the frontlines to help poor and hungry Americans move out of poverty, more specifically helping them tap their own power to be self-reliant through job training, life skills, urban farming, after school programs, affordable housing, entrepreneurial businesses, and much more. WHY is a leading advocate for innovative, community-based solutions to hunger and poverty, and challenges society to confront these problems by advancing models that create self-reliance, economic justice, and equal access to nutritious and affordable food WHY was co-founded in 1975 by artist-activist Harry Chapin and current executive director Bill Ayres and remains connected to their musical roots through their Artists Against Hunger & Poverty initiative with support from Bruce Springsteen, Michael McDonald, Jackson Browne, and many others.

About The New York City Coalition Against Hunger
The New York City Coalition Against Hunger (NYCCAH) represents the more than 1,200 nonprofit soup kitchens and food pantries in New York City and the more than 1.3 million low-income New Yorkers who are forced to use them. The Coalition works to meet the immediate food needs of low-income New Yorkers and enact innovative solutions to help them move "beyond the soup kitchen" to self-sufficiency.

SOURCE Soup Kitchen International