While Super Bowl LIII is still a month away, area residents have a chance to kick off the new year by feeding the hungry this month during Souper Bowl I, a month-long food drive benefiting Eagle’s Wings Food Pantry.

Through Jan. 30, community members are invited to drop off donations of canned soup at the Rose Haven house, located at 219 E. Third St. in Washington. The drive began Wednesday, and is hosted by the North Carolina and Ohio ME/FM Support Group and Pamlico Rose Institute for Sustainable Communities.

Event organizers Colleen and David Steckel are both members of Trivent Financial, a Lutheran nonprofit that pays would-be profits back into the community through charities and nonprofits. Each year, Thrivent members are given two $250 allotments to create Thrivent Action Teams to benefit their local communities.

As one of her allotments for the year, Colleen Steckel decided to organize the Souper Bowl. With the backing of the financial institution, regardless of donations, the food drive will generate at least $250 worth of food for Eagle’s Wings at a time of the year when donations tend to drop off.

“They donate the money back to the community that would have normally been a profit for the company,” David Steckel said. “In doing so, they’ve pushed a lot of money back into the community and helped a lot of things.”

The couple is also using one of their allotments to help sponsor “On Common Grounds,” a popup Sunday morning coffee shop at The Contemporary Art Exchange that benefits local nonprofits.

Colleen Steckel runs the N.C. and Ohio ME/FM Support group, which provides support for individuals dealing with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Gulf War Illness and other similar diseases. David Steckel, meanwhile, serves as project engineer for PRISC. He says the organization looks for ways to support with other community nonprofits.

As for why soup specifically, in the cold winter months, Eagle’s Wings Executive Director Ann-Marie Montague says that the warm staple is especially well-received by the pantry’s clients. Such a drive will also help sustain the pantry through the winter months.

“At the end of the year, we’re in very good shape, because between Thanksgiving and Christmas, people usually think about making donations or having food drives,” Montague said. “But January, February and March are very lean months for us. We don’t get many donations at all, so anything that’s done during those months, such as the Souper Bowl event, really helps.”