Legend of Stone Soup inspires charity in Wake County

On the heels of two hurricanes and an ongoing fire on the West Coast, local charities are counting on people to see the needs of neighbors in their communities.

A cook-off hosted by Urban Ministries on Tuesday night at Raleigh’s McKimmon Center raised money for low income families in Wake County while sharing the Legend of Stone Soup, an old folktale about sharing so everyone has enough.

“He puts a big cauldron on a fire filled with only water and stones and begins stirring it and, bit by bit, the community comes out and says ‘You know, maybe adding a few carrots will improve the soup and maybe adding onion and maybe adding a potato,’” Pete Morris with Urban Ministries of Wake County said of the story that inspired the event.

Tuesday night’s event reflects the story, with the help of nearly two dozen local chefs and several dozen community members raising money to help more than $30,000 people in need in Wake County.

“One in health, one in hunger and nutrition and one in helping homeless women find a pathway home,” Morris said.

The event is expected to raise between $70,000 and $80,000, one soup bowl at a time.

Even in the face of hurricanes and wildfires that have left thousands of people in need, Wake County is not forgotten.

“Here, you feel good because you know that the Urban Ministries people are going to take care of it and they’re going to use it in the best way possible to really help people,” Cary resident Terri March said.

Of the 30,000 people reached by Urban Ministries each year, 8,000 are children.