Fresh off Wednesday night’s 72-66 win over the Washington Mystics, the Liberty took to the street yesterday to help some third graders cool down after a tough day in the classroom.
A dozen students from PS 161 in Harlem were met by Liberty players Loree Moore and Barbara Farris at The Original Soup Man in Rockfeller Center, where the company was unveiling its newest product – the New York Liberty Fruit Cup.
The new soup, which features a variety of chilled fruit chunks covered in a sweet syrup, was unveiled as the excited children chanted, “We want soup!” on the sidewalk outside the store. The soup is just the seventh cold one developed by Al Yeganeh, who became a culinary star after being featured on an infamous episode of “Seinfeld.”
His franchise, “The Original Soup Man,” has since opened dozens of stores in the Metropolitan area and plans are in the works for 20 more.
“We’re a New York-based company. We want to do everything we can to keep the city strong and help the kids of the city,” said Bob Bertrand, president of Soup Man.
While the kids were enjoying their soup, Bertand later treated them to ice cream and lemonade, dished out with help of the smiling Liberty players.
“It’s a lot of fun to interact with the kids,” said Moore, the Libs’ first-round selection in the 2005 draft. “It makes us feel like we’re doing something good, and now to have this soup named after us, it’s like the city is acknowledging what we are doing.”
Yeganeh, an avid supporter of many local sports teams, came up with the idea for the cold soup and chose to name it after the Liberty, one of his favorite teams.
“It’s great to be honored at an event like this, it shows we’re more that just basketball players in this city,” said Farris, who scored 11 points an grabbed nine rebounds in Wednesday’s win. “Plus, it’s a lot of fun to work with the kids, they keep you honest.”
The Liberty Fruit Cup will be available at all city locations of the “Original Soup Man” effective immediately.