Bob Evans Restaurants Teams with Detroit’s Capuchin Soup Kitchen’s Earthworks Urban Farm To Feed More Hungry People Through Its Wellness Ad Advertising

Detroit, MI, September 27, 2013 /3BL Media/ – Bob Evans employee-volunteers arrived at the Earthworks Urban Farm early Thursday morning and were immediately split into work teams and given tools and instructions for harvesting the tomato crop, planting new fall crops, weeding, composting and mulching.  The volunteers were there as part of Bob Evans Restaurants’ funding for improvements at the farm, which is owned and operated by the Capuchin Soup Kitchen. 

Bob Evans Restaurant’s funding from its WellnessAd advertising with CBS EcoMedia is also helping pay for the renovation of the Soup Kitchen’s Conner Avenue facility, home of the Rosa Parks Children and Youth Program.  Adding to it’s support, Bob Evans announced that a quarter (25 cents) will be donated from every purchase of a quart of soup at Detroit-area Bob Evans Restaurants to the Capuchin Soup Kitchen for one month starting in October.

“People are still hungry today,” said Brian Carney, Vice President and Regional Head Coach of Bob Evans Restaurants said.  “So every Bob Evans Restaurants donates food to a local food pantry and that results in millions of pounds of food going to those in real need.  But we can’t stop there.  Today, Bob Evans wants to show our support not only through food donations from the restaurant but also with significant funding from our CBS EcoMedia advertising along with volunteers helping with the hands-on duties involved with making a farm work.”

Following their morning of pro bono work, the Bob Evans Restaurant volunteers, which included executives and a cross section of employees, walked the short distance to the Capuchin Soup Kitchen’s Meldrum site to share lunch with the Soup Kitchen guests.  Included on the Bob Evans Team were Area Leaders Kevin Andrachek and Brian Dombek, along with corporate guests Michael Agee, VP of Restaurant Marketing; Alex Gonzalez, Director of Field Marketing; Carl Crews, Manager of Field Marketing; Mary Jo Justus, Mareting Associate; and Alisha Merico, Field Marketing Associate.

Brother Jerry Smith, Executive Director of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen expressed his gratitude and thanks for the volunteer work done by the Bob Evans group and was especially appreciative for the funding that is being used for both the Earthworks Urban Farm improvements and the repainting of the Conner Avenue building.

“At the Soup Kitchen we not only feed people hungry for a good meal,” says Brother Jerry Smith. “We also try to nurture spirits, stimulate minds, stretch imaginations. We try to help people believe that life can be different, that dreams can be achieved, that miracles can still happen.”

Sponsored by The Province of St. Joseph of the Capuchin Order, the Capuchin Soup Kitchen got its start in 1929 during the Great Depression, a time of devastating national poverty that drove the poor and unemployed of Detroit to knock on the back door of the monastery, asking for food. "They are hungry; get them some soup and sandwiches," Fr. Solanus Casey, one of the founders of the Soup Kitchen, was known to say to the friars. In time the lines grew to more than 2,000 people waiting for their single meal of the day.

Today those in need often initially come for the food, but soon find other reasons to continue. Many become involved in the Soup Kitchen’s literacy sessions, substance abuse counseling services, or programs offered by Earthworks Urban Farm or the On the Rise Bakery.

Earthworks Urban Farm is the first and oldest certified organic farm in Detroit.  It grows almost every kind of vegetable commonly found in Michigan, as well as many not commonly found.  It produces a number of fruits, culinary and medical herbs, and cut flowers.  Some of the harvested produce is sold through the Grown In Detroit co-op, some is provided to the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, and some is marketed at a small market held weekly at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen.  The organization also uses most of the berries harvested for making jams as a fundraiser.

“At EcoMedia, it’s our mission to bring tangible, meaningful qualify of life improvements to communities across America. That’s a big job – and we can’t do it alone. The success of our business plan requires the dedicated effort of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen and the generous support of community-minded advertising partners like Bob Evans Restaurants. Today, we want to thank the enthusiastic and energetic Bob Evans volunteers who literally rolled up their sleeves and dug in at Earthworks Urban Farm. In addition, thanks to generous financial support provided by Bob Evans Restaurants, both the Urban Farm and the Conner Avenue home of the Rosa Parks Children and Youth Program will see much-needed improvements and renovations. This is the second community project supported by Bob Evans Restaurants through our WellnessAd program, and we laud the company for leading by example; the community improvements they’re bringing to Detroit are proof of the positive difference we can make when we all work together. That’s the philosophy at the core of our EcoAd, EducationAd, and WellnessAd programs.

Kevin Andrachek, Area Coach for Bob Evans Restaurants in the Detroit area, used today’s volunteer workday to announce a challenge to the citizens of Detroit.  “For every quart of soup that is sold at Bob Evans Restaurants between October 7 and November 6, 2013, Bob Evans will donate one quarter (25 cents) to the Capuchin Soup Kitchen,” said Andrachek.  “We want people to know about the great work being done here at Capuchin but also find a way to get them involved to continue that wonderful service.”  For more information, visit any participating Bob Evans restaurant within the Detroit market area.” 

About Bob Evans Farms, Inc.

Bob Evans Farms, Inc. owns and operates full-service restaurants under the Bob Evans Restaurants brand name. At the end of the first fiscal quarter (July 26, 2013), Bob Evans Restaurants owned and operated 560 family restaurants in 19 states, primarily in the Midwest, mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions of the United States. Bob Evans Farms, Inc., through its BEF Foods segment, is also a leading producer and distributor of refrigerated side dishes, pork sausage and a variety of refrigerated and frozen convenience food items under the Bob Evans and Owens brand names.  For more information about Bob Evans Farms, Inc., visit www.bobevans.com

About Capuchin Soup Kitchen

The Capuchin Soup Kitchen is a ministry sponsored by the Province of St. Joseph of the Capuchin Order. It provides food, clothing and counsel to those in need. Typically serving 2,000 meals each weekday, the Capuchin Soup Kitchen also distributes household items and operates a shower program, food pantry, and children’s tutoring and art therapy program. Its Earthworks Urban farm produces vegetables for the community, and educates adults and children in regards to sustainable relationships between human beings and the earth. The Soup Kitchen’s ROPE (Reaching Our Potential Everyday) ministry is designed to assist individuals “re-entering” society after bouts of incarceration or substance abuse.

The Province of St Joseph of the Capuchin Order is headquartered in Detroit. It is part of the international order of Capuchins, a group of men religious within the Roman Catholic Church who make vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. It traces its roots back to St Francis of Assisi, who was born in Italy in 1182.

About CBS EcoMedia, Inc.

At EcoMedia, we're propelled by the desire to create positive social change; that's been our mission since we founded the company in 2002.  In 2010, after successfully partnering with CBS on a wide range of environmental projects, EcoMedia became the newest addition to the CBS Corporation portfolio, exponentially scaling our reach across television, radio, interactive, publishing and outdoor media. 

Through our patent-pending EcoAd, WellnessAd and EducationAd programs, an innovative twist on traditional advertising, advertisers are able to support much-needed local projects which in turn creates jobs, saves taxpayer money and improves the quality of life in communities nationwide.  In the process, we’re fundamentally altering the advertising landscape, elevating the ordinary, traditional commercial – and media, in general – into a catalyst for tangible, quantifiable social change.  Please visit ecomediacbs.com to learn more. 

By participating in EcoMedia’s EcoAd, WellnessAd and EducationAd advertising programs, EcoMedia’s advertisers agree to provide funding for projects we believe will have a beneficial effect upon the environment, health and/or education within local communities.  EcoMedia’s advertising programs are not certification programs nor are the EcoAd, WellnessAd or EducationAd logos seals of approval. EcoMedia does not in any way certify, endorse or make any representations about EcoMedia program advertisers, their products or services.