Sioux Falls Food Co+op (SFFC) in Sioux Falls, S.D., came up with a unique way to support cooperatives in Ukraine. The week of March 14-20, they featured Ukrainian-inspired soup recipes in the deli, and 100% of all soup sales from the week were donated to Ukrainian relief efforts. The donations will go toward rebuilding food access in Ukraine.

In order to give even greater impact to the donations, SFFC General Manager Patrick Sayler front-loaded the contributions so that the co-op could take advantage of NCG’s matching funds to Ukrainian relief.

Sayler described the inspiration for setting up the donation: “It was really born out of our feeling of helplessness about the awful things happening to Ukraine,” he said. “The idea came from our outreach coordinator, Erika, who was brainstorming ideas of what we could do. We could donate to help the cause, but we could also take this opportunity to engage with our shoppers and give them a way to participate in the fundraiser in a meaningful way.”

Additionally, Sayler said that basing the donations on soup sales provided a way to better understand how supportive shoppers are of these types of causes while also helping set a standard for future efforts. 

SFFC also promotes a round-up donation program, Big Change Program, which started in 2017. So far, the co-op has raised more than $23,000 for different nonprofits through the initiative. Watch a short feature on the success of the program.