The Soup Aisle Commitment: Why We Show Up

At The Soup Aisle, we’re not a massive operation with corporate infrastructure – we are literally two people trying to feed our community well.

Just a small business running on genuine care, determination, and honesty.

We’re Here to Help You

First and foremost, if you’re ever confused about how our soup system works, please reach out to us. Seriously. Whether you’re new to our subscription model, unsure about customizations, have questions about ingredients, or just want to chat about soup—we want to hear from you. Our system might not be complicated, but our offer is unique.

We are a meal startup company that uses local ingredients and focuses on community first, and we’re committed to making sure you feel confident and supported in how you’re getting your soup! We’ve built The Soup Aisle with real people in mind. That means we think about the person with dietary restrictions who needs to know exactly what’s in every batch.

We think about people on tight budgets who need affordable, nourishing food.

We think about the customer with mobility challenges who needs flexible delivery options.

We think about caretakers managing someone else’s dietary needs alongside their own.

We think about folks who don’t want to think about choices and just want something simple, healthy, and fresh. (And if it just so happens to be a gourmet soup then bonus!! 🤣)

If any of these describe you—or if something else describes your situation—we want to know, and we want to help. We have an ever-evolving menu and we take requests! 😋

Behind the Scenes

Real talk: running The Soup Aisle means experiencing the beautiful chaos of a small business trying to do right by people. Yesterday, I found myself with no cell service in Kensington while messages were flooding in from customers about an order system glitch I couldn’t even see, much less respond to. There I am: Driving with a cooler full of orders and no way to text. The anxiety of that situation—knowing people were waiting for answers and I literally couldn’t reach them—that’s the stuff that keeps us going. Because the moment I had service again, fixing it became the priority. That’s just what you do when you actually care about the people you’re serving.

Fixing these issues are on the top of our list.

Customers aren’t looking for perfection from a two-person operation. They’re looking for honesty, effort, and the assurance that we care enough to make it right.

We’ve gotten better at our systems, and we’re still working on it. We’ve tightened our processes, and still we try harder. We’ve learned what to look for before problems happen, but mostly, we’ve learned that our customers appreciate knowing the person packing their soup is the same person who drives an extra 45 miles to fix a mistake. That matters.

Good service isn’t about having all the answers; it’s about genuinely listening to the response. It’s about remembering that the person ordering soup might be ordering it because they’re managing a health condition, recovering from something, caring for someone else, or simply trying to eat better, or think about more important things then stirring a pot for an hour. (That’s our job!!!) Our job is to make your life easier.

We Don’t Do This Alone

We want to give a special shout-out to Erin’s dad, who helps us with deliveries. Having family support this business isn’t just out of convenience. (Patrick needed help.)

The person that delivers your soup from us will always understand the value of what we do.

Let’s Connect

If you’re part of The Soup Aisle community, thank you. Thank you for trusting us with your meals, for being patient with our growing pains, for reaching out when something isn’t right, and for understanding that behind every bowl of soup is a real person committed to your satisfaction. You matter to us more than you know.

The Soup Aisle isn’t just ladling out soup — we’re trying to serve our community ridiculously good food at an honest price.

Opinions Are Like Spoons – Everyone’s Got ‘Em

Featured

The Great Soup Divide: Stirring The Pot

The air crisps up and suddenly everyone’s got an opinion about soup. It’s that time again—soup season—and while most people can agree on one thing (it’s the best season), the great soup debates are officially bubbling over.

Ask someone you know, “is cereal a soup?“

Half the room tilts their heads, the other half pretends not to be personally offended. One person mutters something about “milk-based soup” 🤣 – another refuses to make eye contact and starts humming. Suddenly, your quiet dinner has turned into a philosophy seminar. Coworkers turn against each other. Welcome to the great soup divide—where ladles are drawn and wars are waged. (Well, not really but you never know!)

The Cereal Question That Started It All

Here’s where things get interesting — because structurally speaking cereal checks every box. Solid ingredients suspended in liquid, eaten from a bowl with a spoon. I thought that was soup 101.

So why does a cold bowl of milk and grains suddenly become controversial?

Rice and milk soups exist in Puerto Rico. Many cream of barley soups originated from Persia. Italian rice and milk soup dating back to the 1800’s. All grain plus milk, all genuinely recognized as soup across their respective culinary traditions. If those count, cereal’s structurally identical makeup becomes harder to dismiss on merit alone. (Plus, a lot of work went into making those delicious fortified grains!)

The counterargument usually comes down to this: cooking matters. Most soups require heat, and the kind of flavor-building that happens when ingredients meld together. Cereal skips that ceremony entirely—you just pour and eat. So maybe that’s the real divide?

Some people draw the line at intent. Others at temperature. A few stubborn folks still insist soup must be hot, warm at minimum, which—let’s be honest—is just gatekeeping. We accept gazpacho and vichyssoise as cold soups without question – and gazpacho doesn’t take any heat whatsoever to make.

Simmer Down or Soup Up

At The Soup Aisle, we believe people’s soup-pinions say a lot about them. Some of us are thick‑and‑hearty loyalists—the kind who believe a soup should stand on its own, no sides required. Others lean toward minimalist broths or puréed soups. Then there are the free spirits who treat every bowl like a chance to experiment, tossing in a dash of things until it feels just right. That’s not our style.

I guess that’s what makes soup beautiful: there’s no right way to love it. Soup is the great equalizer. Some people love it for making Pantry Raid Soup. Or call it what you will – wherever you’re from, people know those soups by unique names.

Fridge Forage Soup

Freezer Soup

Leftover Soup

Clean-Slate Soup

Kitchen Sink Soup 🤮

Surprise Soup 🤢

Scraps Soup 😬

A nice, warm bowl of soup softens sharp opinions and reminds us that good food is meant to be shared. (Preferably with someone who doesn’t judge you too much!)

Where Do You Land?

The cereal debate is just the tip of the bowl. The real question is about how we define the things we love – and whether those definitions even matter. Is a soup defined by what’s in it, or how it’s made? Or why you made it?

(Luckily, this is a soup blog and we’re not about to philosophize whether a hotdog is a sandwich.)

Whether you’re debating the philosophical nature of cereal, or just need something warm to carry you through the cold, we have so many comforting choices for you.

The Unexpected Rise of The Soup Aisle

The Accidental Soup-preneurs

Who would have thought that a simple bowl of soup would lead to a full-fledged business venture? Certainly not us, Erin and Patrick, the unlikely duo behind The Soup Aisle. As we sit here, planning our menu, we can’t help but chuckle about it a little bit.

We weren’t always soup aficionados. For most of our lives, soup was just something you ate when you had a cold. But somewhere between adulting and realizing that vegetables are good for you, we stumbled onto a Dutch Oven full of possibilities.

A Soup Epiphany

It hit us like a ladle to the face – soup isn’t just food, it’s an experience. An experience that we suddenly realized was worth taking a closer look at. We found ourselves discussing broth consistency over breakfast.

One day, we thought: “Does the world need more soup?” The answer, we decided after approximately 2.5 seconds of deliberation, was a resounding yes. And thus, The Soup Aisle was born – a virtual soup store for the discerning soup, and soup accoutrements, enthusiast.

The Existential Soup Crisis

Sometimes, we find ourselves staring at the ceiling, pondering: “Do we really love soup this much?” It’s a valid concern. But then we remember – we’re soup people now. And we’re okay with that. The world needs more soup. And we’ve realized something profound: It’s not just a business opportunity; it’s our chance to ladle out a little happiness. We never thought we’d be here, getting excited over a perfectly seasoned broth and high fiving over our new 40 qt stock pot. But here we are, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. The Soup Aisle isn’t just a business about soup; it’s our passion project and our culinary canvas.

Here’s to unexpected journeys. Here’s to finding passion in the most unlikely places. Here’s to embracing the ridiculous. Because life’s too short for boring food.

Join us on this souper adventure. Who knows? You might just find yourself becoming a soup convert too. And if not, well, “No soup for you!”