Soup of ‘Seinfield’ fame being shared with NJ veterans

‘Soup for Troops’ kicks off July 4

The comedy bit started with “No Soup for You.”

It’s evolved into a food offering, marketed as “Soup for All.”

The Original Soupman, of the TV’s “Seinfield” fame, is now kicking off “Soup for Troops,” distributing free hot meals to veterans, beginning July 4 at Nutley Township’s Military and Veterans Affairs Bureau.

The bureau, centrally located in New Jersey, will deliver the shelf-stable soup cartons to veteran groups, or past and present military personnel can pick up a box at 149 Chestnut St. in Nutley.

“Veterans face many unique challenges in this country. We want to make sure putting food on the table is not one of them,” said Joseph Hagan, president of Gallant Brands Inc., which owns the Original Soupman.

“Gallant Brands was inspired by those who have served selflessly in the armed forces,” the Bronx native said. “We have had a mission to assist veterans since the moment we launched, and as citizens, we should never forget to thank our veterans, remember their sacrifices, and honor their selfless dedication to protecting our freedoms.”

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The “Soup Nazi” character, appearing in a 1995 “Seinfield” episode with his “No Soup for You” mantra, was loosely based on chef Al Yeganeh, who founded the Original Soupman in New York City. The character became a cultural icon.

Hagen’s company, based in Eatontown, acquired the Original Soupman’s assets in September 2017 after its owner, Soupman Inc., filed for bankruptcy. The sale eliminated more than $11 million in debt and trade liabilities, Gallant Brands reported at the time.

“We are selling great soup, and we’re going to sell a lot more,” Hagan announced after the purchase. “A new regime is poised to finally capitalize on this brand’s colossal value.”

Patriotism, plus soup

“On 9/11, I was on a ferry watching people jump from Tower 1,” recalled Hagan, who was working on Wall Street when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. “If I didn’t have children and a wife sick with cancer, I would have enlisted.”

Nearly 17 years later, his patriotism, along with his soup inventory, spawned the idea for the nonprofit “Soup for Troops.” The product, in its current packaging, has a two-year shelf life, he said.

In addition to suffering post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, more than one in four veterans reported lacking food on a regular basis, with 12 percent of them seeing very little food, according to a National Institutes of Health survey, released in 2014.

“Food-insecure veterans tended to be younger, not married/partnered, living in households with more children, earning lower incomes, had a lower final military pay grade, were more likely to use tobacco, reported more frequent binge drinking and slept less, compared with those who were food secure,” the study determined.

Starting a New Jersey veteran food program in Nutley made sense, Hagan noted.

“Nutley has become a premiere example in veterans’ outreach in New Jersey,” said Commissioner Steven Rogers, who instituted the municipality’s Military and Veterans Affairs Bureau in 2012. The bureau serves about 3,000 veterans in town.

The “Soup for Troops” venture is a partnership between the nonprofit and the government partnership, according to Rogers, a retired U.S. Navy intelligence officer who last year competed in the Republican gubernatorial primary.

“July 4 is our day of independence, and I see this as a new birth for our veterans,” Rogers said of the soup program. “We want the veterans to know they are not forgotten.”

“We were looking for an avenue to feed the hungry,” said Bureau Director Courtney Johnson, who spent 21 years in the U.S. Marine Corps. “It was a blessing. [Gallant] came in at a good time.”

The product, however, had to pass a taste test with Johnson and his fellow former Marines.

“We had a soup party, and the soups were well-received,” he said.

The Original Soupman’s flavors include chicken noodle, shrimp bisque, lobster bisque, gluten-free lentil, chicken gumbo, and crab and corn chowder.

NJ and beyond

Johnson will use his contacts to distribute the soups to veteran groups statewide, he said. The director also plans to coordinate shipping the product to U.S. military personnel overseas.

When the Second Battalion, 25th Marines, based at the Picatinny Arsenal in Dover, deploy to Afghanistan, Johnson hopes to send off each soldier with a carton of soup.

On Saturday, June 30, the Original Soupman samples will be in a gift bag on the Third Annual Veterans Cruises on Lake Hopatcong in Morris County.

The lake’s cruise line sponsors the free celebrations aboard the vessel Miss Lotta.

Jefferson, Mount Arlington, Hopatcong and Roxbury officials nominate eligible veterans to attend the event.

“Everyone loves soup,” said organizer Mario Monaco, a Fairfield resident and retired gunnery sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. “It’s just to say ‘thank you’ for your service.”

Once the New Jersey distribution model is successful, Hagan intends to take the initiative nationwide.

“‘Soup for Troops’ is a warm and comforting ‘thank you’ from Gallant Brands,” Hagan said. “Our hope is to remind them that their sacrifices are always appreciated and never forgotten.”

Email: proctor@northjersey.com

 

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