The closing credits state: "The music was recorded on location in Thompkins Square Park, New York. It was 9 degrees above zero; the background voices are of the homeless residents of the park."
The closing credits state: "'Rock Soup' was shot in the spring of 1988. We spent one day interviewing Kalif Beacon who was responsible for starting the Rainbow Kitchen. A month later we shot four days in the kitchen and one evening in a community board meeting."
Various quotations are written on rocks at the beginning and ending of the film.