SEATTLE'S MORNING NEWS

Mike Rowe surprises Black Diamond treasure Mama Ginger

Oct 6, 2017, 8:43 AM | Updated: Oct 1, 2024, 10:30 am

Mama Ginger Passarelli is pretty well known around here. She founded a non-profit called The Soup Ladies more than a decade ago out of the kitchen of her restaurant in Black Diamond.

More from Colleen O’Brien

The Soup Ladies are a group of volunteers who deliver hot meals (yes, soup) to first responders during major disasters.

I was really happy to find out that after all the work that she does for others Mama Ginger was recently recognized in a big way. Mike Rowe, who is known for his show “Dirty Jobs,” has a new Facebook-only show called Returning the Favor.

Someone nominated Mama Ginger to be recognized on the show, so Rowe came to Black Diamond to surprise her.

He didn’t know much about The Soup Ladies when he got there, but from the moment Rowe and Mama embraced she told him all about their incredible accomplishments.

“Last year we put out over 11,400 meals and there’s no charge to any agency,” she said. “When those five officers were killed in Dallas we had a team go down there and we put out about 3,000 meals down there.”

Part of having Mama Ginger on the episode of Returning the Favor is to surprise her with something that can help The Soup Ladies and boy did Mike Rowe surprise her. You can watch the video here.

Please follow our Community Guidelines

FILE - Children wade in the water with cargo ships at anchor in the background and a fisherman near...

Associated Press

Oil prices ease after US and Iran pause their attacks

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices eased in early trading Sunday, falling further from a two-month high set last week, after the United States and Iran refrained from launching military strikes in the Persian Gulf for a second straight day. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil to be delivered in September dropped […]

53 minutes ago

White House border czar Tom Homan speaks with reporters outside the White House, Monday, July 20, 2...

Associated Press

Trump’s border czar says vetting of ICE officer is under internal review after Maine shooting

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s border czar said Sunday that the vetting of an immigration officer involved in the deadly shooting of a Colombian native in Maine is under internal review after relatives revealed to The Associated Press that he had a history of serious mental health struggles and violent behavior. Tom Homan said […]

4 hours ago

The Modrite Fire, in northeast Washington state, has grown to more than 9,000 acres. (Photo Courtes...

Tom Brock

Washington state wildfires growing in size, forcing evacuations

Dry conditions across the state have prompted Red Flag Watches and Warnings, as a series of wildfires continues to grow across Washington.

5 hours ago

President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and others, salute as a U.S. Army carr...

Associated Press

Pentagon’s official Iran war death toll no longer lists 4 troops killed during renewed fighting

WASHINGTON (AP) — The four American troops killed during renewed fighting between the U.S. and Iran in recent weeks are no longer listed as part of the Iran war death toll in the Pentagon’s official casualty count but have been placed in a new, separate category. It is raising questions about properly counting the impact […]

5 hours ago

This satellite image released by NOAA shows Hurricane Fausto, center, and Hurricane Genevieve off t...

Associated Press

Genevieve becomes a major Pacific hurricane off Mexico, but no direct threat to land is forecast

MIAMI (AP) — Genevieve has strengthened into a major hurricane in the Pacific Ocean and is expected to intensify well southwest of Mexico but stay far out to sea on a course roughly parallel to the coast. Genevieve had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (195 kph), making it a Category 3 hurricane, according to […]

5 hours ago

A Kent Police Department vehicle (Photo courtesy of Kent Police Department)...

Tom Brock

Dispute at a family graduation celebration ends with deadly shooting

One man is dead, and another is in police custody after a family celebration in Kent ended with a shooting. Police arrested a 40-year-old suspect at a family graduation celebration after a 41-year-old man was shot multiple times. It happened at a home in the 900 block of E. Cherry Hill St., a half mile […]

6 hours ago

Mike Rowe surprises Black Diamond treasure Mama Ginger