The “MoCo Made Mondays” series highlights the people and products that are involved in our MoCo Made Program and featured in the Montgomery County Food and Beverage Guide. From beer, to apples, to soup, to hot sauce, supporting local businesses has never been tastier! Get to know the neighbors proudly bringing you MoCo Made products.
Coop’s Soups began with loneliness. Cristin Cooper felt disconnected in her relationships, disconnected from her community, and disconnected with the food she was eating. As a result, she wanted to create a food product that would evoke a sense of mindfulness and being present with those sharing in the eating experience. Cristin had been regularly inviting friends over for dinners, cooking homemade soup and serving it with hearty, fresh baked bread, and these friends urged her to consider selling the soup to others. She didn’t just want to make a profit, but wanted others to share the soup as she was: with those in need, with friends or family, with neighbors. Coops Soups was born in the early winter of 2019 with the tagline: “soup to share as an awesome way to make friends and fight off loneliness.”
After securing a spot at the Olney Farmers Market for the 2019 season, Cristin asked the market manager for a list of local farms that she could source from. She first connected with Common Root Farm in Derwood, MD, in January of 2019. Her relationship with Erica and Ryan at Common Root began by email, and evolved over a bowl of soup. Since the late winter of 2019, Cristin has bought produce from Common Root at a wholesale price, including “second” quality vegetables in order to reduce food waste. Cristin was also introduced to Sandy Spring Gardens and For the Love of Grit, two other local diversified vegetable farms, and more recently her list of farm partners has grown to include Dodo Farms, Blueberry Gardens, and the Somerset Farm Alliance. Coop’s Soups has also collaborated with fellow MoCo Made businesses Cinnamon Tree Organics and Brookeville Beer Farm to add unique flavors to classic comforts. 
On Tuesday of each week, Cristin connects with farm partners to identify what products are available. Cristin says that when she picks up her vegetable order, the “generous, hospitable exchanges,” as she describes them, often results in receiving additional produce, new produce items that she’s unfamiliar with, or simply an opportunity to slow down and connect with the farmer for a few minutes. “I felt like I was a pretty generous, hospitable person before I started Coop’s Soups, but I’ve learned such a deeper sense of generosity and hospitality from these farmers,” says Cristin.
After a successful first season at the Olney Market, Coop’s Soups launched an online CSA-style “soupscription” for customers to continue receiving soup for 8-10 weeks through the winter of 2019-2020. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit Montgomery County in March of 2020, Cristin decided to leverage the support of her loyal customers in a different way. After joining the Food Council’s first COVID-19 Community Call on 3/30, Cristin established a “Souper Star” program as a partnership between Coop’s Soups and Community Food Rescue (CFR), wherein online donations to Coop’s Soup would go towards making hearty soups to provide to local food assistance providers. Since April, Coop’s Soups has donated 6 gallons of soup per week to CFR to help “Feed the Need,” while continuing to sell creative blends, like a sweet potato peanut soup and vegan beer chili, by the jar online, at the Family Room in Laytonsville, and at the Olney Farmers Market.
Cristin calls her soup “an excuse to get to know someone new,” and the strong relationships that she has formed within the community through Coop’s Soup demonstrate just that.
Interested in learning more about Coop’s Soups, and trying some farm-to-jar deliciousness for yourself? Visit www.coopssoups.com or check this MoCo Made business out on Facebook at @CoopsSoupsLLC or Instagram @coopssoupstoshare. Thank you to Cristin Cooper, Soupmaker behind Coop’s Soups and Pastor of Soup Church for sharing her story for this week’s MoCo Made Monday!
MoCo Made businesses interested in being featured in a future MoCo Made Monday post: please contact cnardi@mocofoodcouncil.org
*Photo Credit for “Share Me” Photo: The Family Room, Laytonsville, MD