The competition was tough at the ‘Souper Bowl,', sponsored by Sodexho Food Services at Manchester Township High School, with Lakewood Schools taking home the trophy for Best Soup 2010 with a margin of just one vote.  The real winners were the National Kidney Foundation and the Ocean-Monmouth County Food Bank, which benefited from the charity event.

Jeff Hanaway, Sodexho Food Services Manager for Manchester Township Schools, said the event was designed to be a friendly competition among the school district food service departments from throughout the state that participated.  Patrons sampled each district’s soup and voted on their favorite while enjoying live entertainment. 

Jeff Hanaway and his son Ryan sample the MTHS entry, Hearty Beef Vegetable, served by Connie DiSimone and Nadia Stewart.

“I am so thankful for the outpouring of support from everyone that was involved, especially the schools that were in attendance.  Every soup entered could have won, they were all delicious,” said Hanaway.  “Also, I would like to thank everyone who donated items, and the generous people who attended. Thanks to you, we raised just over $1,200 for the National Kidney Foundation and about 200 pounds of food donations for the Ocean-Monmouth County Foodbank.”