A Summer at Stone Soup PDX

There aren't a lot of places where you can watch people choose, every single day, to fight for something better for their community and for themselves. Stone Soup is one of those places, and now that my internship is coming to an end here, I'm still catching myself in disbelief that this is my job.

Julia, Stone Soup's Marketing and Communications Coordinator, meets with me every morning to map out my day. One of my favorite habits I've picked up from her is what I call the "big list". Not the kind you scribble on a sticky note, but a huge sheet of paper taped to the wall where we write down everything we need to get done. Julia always starts me off with the quick wins first, so we get some early momentum before diving into the harder stuff. It's a small habit, but it's taught me a lot about structuring a day well.

This internship has given me real work, not busywork. I helped lead a full brand logo rollout for Stone Soup, giving our look a warmer, more welcoming feel. What I didn't expect was how much a rebrand touches. It meant a full website refresh. It meant updating every social channel: Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. It meant peeling old vinyl off our buildings and putting up new vinyl. It even meant new merch for staff and participants.

Changing a brand is never just changing a logo. It ripples into everything.

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But the moments that have stayed with me most aren't the projects; they're the people. One afternoon after a productive day at our Powell headquarters, I drove over to our second location, Stone Soup's cafe, where participants get hands-on experience making coffee and food items for the public. That day they were making homemade birria tacos. I brought my camera and captured photos while everyone cooked together. The tacos were delicious, but honestly, it was the company that made the day. Being surrounded by people who choose, every single day, to keep showing up and keep getting better, despite everything working against them, is one of the most honorable things I've witnessed.

Along the way, I've gotten my hands on just about everything here. I've worked on our Souper Star campaign, focused on growing our donor base, and started building out our Soup Cook-Off event. During my very first week, I got to tag along on a few excursions, and I remember walking into the space where the Soup Cook-Off will be held and feeling this wave of excitement. 

I've also interviewed participants and hearing their stories about experiencing barriers to employment. It's made me stop and really think about how amazing it is that a space like this exists for people trying to be better.

The biggest thing I'll take from this place for the rest of my life is this: do work you're proud of, for people who care. The thought of leaving Stone Soup makes me sad. I've loved every second of this. I'll always look back on this internship with an immense sense of gratitude for the people who made it so unforgettable. And I'll always hold a special place in my heart for the Portland Internship Program (PIE) program, which is what brought me here in the first place.

This internship has taught me that work can be exciting. That it can be fun. That it can feel like exactly what it should be.

Written by: Sam Rodriguez (Stone Soup's Summer Intern, 2026)

[Stone Soup PDX builds economic stability for people facing barriers to employment through hands-on culinary training and our community meals program. To learn more about our mission, visit our website at www.stonesouppdx.com]