June 25, 2026 SOUP Dinner

Congratulations to our People's Choice winner, Royal Youth Dance Ensemble, Inc. (RYDE), who received $612 to support their RYDE Community Glow Pop-Up Series!

The voting was incredibly close, which speaks volumes about the quality of all four projects and the important work these organizations are doing. One comment we heard again and again from attendees was, "I wish I had four vote tickets!"

One of the most rewarding parts of the evening was seeing every presenter leave with funding for their project. Each organization is making a meaningful difference in our community, and we're grateful that Knoxville SOUP could play a small role in helping them continue their work.

Congratulations also to our other outstanding presenters:

  • Native Plant Rescue Squad – Volunteer Program
  • Knox County Red Book of Resources – Red Book Improvement
  • Knoxville Academy of Medicine Foundation – Scruffy City Real Talk: Conversations That Can Change Lives

Thank you to each of our presenters for sharing your passion and vision with our community. Congratulations again to all of you—you are all winners!

Learn more about the proposals....

THANKS to our June 25th Dinner Supporters!

A huge THANKS to all our sponsors and those who contributed to help make our SOUP dinners a success. We especially appreciate Knoxville Shriners for providing the beautiful dinner location, our food donors for the wonderful food, and volunteers for their service!

Thanks to Carol Lacava, Cathrine O’Bear, & Emilia Klinzing for providing sign language interpreting services for tonight's dinner!

And special thanks our emcee extraordinaire, Dustin Durham.

Please help us thank our supporters with YOUR support of their business!

Raffle Items

  • 71 South
  • AMBC
  • Andrea Kline
  • Ashe's Wines & Spirits
  • Averra Media
  • Baxter Properties
  • Bear Paw Bikes
  • Bobbye Edwards
  • Borderland Tees
  • Brandy Jenkins (Candidate, 9th District School Board)
  • CommonPlace
  • Debbie Helsley, At-Large City Councilwoman
  • Eggspectation
  • Gloria Johnson
  • Hardwood BBQ
  • Hi-Wire
  • Highland Design
  • Ijams
  • Karyn Adams, 1st District Councilwoman
  • Knoxville History Project
  • Legacy Parks
  • Lynn Fugate, At-Large City Councilwoman
  • Mattress Place
  • Mayor Jacobs
  • Mayor Kincannon
  • Mighty Mud
  • Mike Hammond, Candidate for Knox County Criminal Court Clerk
  • Nostalgia South
  • Patrick Michael
  • PAWZ Dog Services
  • Richie Beeler
  • River Dog Bakery
  • Round-up Restaurant
  • Round-up Restaurant & Ice Cream Parlor
  • South Coast Pizza
  • South High Senior Living
  • Southern Breeze Heating and Cooling
  • Southside Waterfront Neighborhood Association
  • Stanley's
  • Stephen Hood, Candidate for Knox County Trustee
  • Tea & Treasures

Food Contributions

  • Eggspectation
  • Ham-n-Goody's
  • Jan Brown
  • Katie Sullivan
  • Lindsey Colette
  • Nauti-K's Riverside
  • Ramsey Catering
  • Redbud Kitchen
  • Round Up Restaurant
  • SoKno Sourdough
  • South Coast Pizza
  • South High Senior Living
  • Southside Waterfront Neighborhood Association
  • Trailhead Beer Market
  • Wee Care Shoppe

Volunteers

  • Adam Fritts
  • Barry Neal
  • Betsy Pickle
  • Bill Saccardi
  • Brandon Shackelford
  • Brian Cannata
  • Camden Johnson
  • Catherine Obear
  • Dana Barker
  • Debbie Mallard
  • Debbie Sharp
  • Eric Johnson
  • Erin Kelbly
  • Emilia Klinzing
  • Jeanne Fair
  • Jenna Bailey
  • Jenny Gauntt
  • Julianna Tullos
  • Kara Strouse
  • Lilly Sutton
  • Lindsey Coletta
  • Lindsey Jaremko
  • Lizzie Gaver
  • Maggie Meyers
  • Mary Touchton
  • Matt Jones
  • Mya Moseley
  • Nancy Campbell
  • Patrick Michael
  • Rene Skelton
  • Tay Flay
  • Terri LeSueur
  • Walt Montgomery

About Knoxville SOUP

We are excited to announce our 1st 2026 dinner will be June 25th at The Kerbela Temple in South Knoxville!

Doors open at 5:30 PM and presentations start at 6:00. Mark your calendars and come hear about projects in our community. $5 (suggested donation) gets you Soup, Salad, and a VOTE!

Kerbela Temple is located at 315 Kerbela Ave [ map ].

Do you want to support this project with your time? We need volunteers! Sign Up.

Do you want to promote your business? We are looking for raffle items and food dontions. Send us an email for more information.

Knoxville SOUP is a community micro-granting dinner that brings people together to support local projects making a difference. For a $5 donation, guests get soup, bread, and a vote to help fund creative ideas that benefit Knoxville. At the end of the night, every dollar collected at the door goes directly to the project with the most votes—turning a simple meal into real community change.

SOUP has been described as:

  • a collaborative situation
  • a public dinner
  • a platform for connection
  • a relational hub bringing together communities
  • a forum for discussion
  • an opportunity to support creative people in pursuit of the betterment of their community

Get inspired! Watch a 2 minute video of a SOUP dinner in progress.


Like the Knoxville SOUP Facebook Page to keep up with the latest information about SOUP dinners.


How it works: We will open the doors at 5:30 pm, collecting a $5.00 donation from attendees. At 6:00, 4 preselected individuals or groups will present an idea or project they would like to carry out. Each presenter (or group) has 4 minutes to inform, impassion and inspire the audience. They then have 4 minutes to answer questions from the audience. Dinner is then served while attendees digest, discuss and deliberate over the projects presented. They then cast a ballot for the project they would like most to fund.

When the evening nears a close, the ballots are counted and the group that has the most votes takes home the money from the door to help fund their project. Democracy meets Charity…

Proposals can be for anything that will benefit the community or society in general. Past winning projects have improved greenways and nature trails, provided exercise equipment for seniors, funded back to school drives, supported other charitable endeavors and even launched a small business with a social focus. There are no hard and fast rules to what a proposal should be, only that someone envisions it, asks for it and the diners vote for it.

Winners are asked to return to a subsequent dinner and share with us the success of their project. Dinners will also feature an artist each month.

After presentations, diners will have about an hour to eat, share and connect with others while voting for the project they like best. By about 7:45, the votes will be tallied and the winning project will be awarded all donations raised at the door. NOTE: a suggested donation of $5 will be collected at the door. All money raised at the door goes to the winning proposal.

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