The 44th annual Central Arkansas Soup Sunday benefit raised a record $216,455 for Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, a nonprofit committed to providing children and families with resources and equal opportunities.
The annual charity event was held Sunday in North Little Rock at The Venue at Westwind. It was co-chaired by Dr. Gene Lu and Kevin Shalin of The Mighty Rib blog and was emceed by former Miss Arkansas Cori Keller.
There were 30 soups entries from local restaurants. SO Restaurant-Bar took home the Dave Williams Golden Ladle award for its smoked gouda green chile soup. Afrobites co-owners Madere Toure and Pap Diop, the featured chefs for the event, brought a harira soup, which placed second. It’s Time To Eat placed third for the second consecutive year for its popular soul food soup.
A superb online auction for the event raised $45,000. A tour of the KARK-TV Channel 4 studios from beloved Little Rock meteorologist Todd Yakoubian went for $500, a birthday party with members of the Little Rock Police Department sold for $350, mahjong lessons went for $230.
One extremely lucky bidder won the invitation to “party all the time with the Arkansas Times” for a chilly $150, an incredible value.
Rhett Brinkley is the food editor at the Arkansas Times. Send restaurant tips and food selfies to rhettbrinkley@arktimes.com
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