In 2026, lowernine.org will launch the New Orleans chapter of the Los Angeles based soup making initiative Stone Soup. This new program, called Stone Soup NOLA, will combine job training for three young Black women residents of the New Orleans Lower 9th Ward with a kitchen startup that will distribute homemade soup to the community. The program employs a “buy one, give one” model – for every container of soup sold, one is donated to the food pantry.

The program will engage three young Black women by providing them with training in areas such as food pantry management and operations, food preparation and handling, sales, marketing, and customer service. At lowernine.org’s multi-use facility, which houses the food pantry and a business kitchen, Stone Soup NOLA participants will also prepare, sell, and donate soup to the food pantry.