You could easily tweak this to be similar to something I grew up with, from Slovenia: https://www.tasteatlas.com/manestra Maybe cook longer and blend some of it to thicken it up.
The funny thing is that we call that minestra in Italy. I keep being pleasantly surprised by how food is just different shades when you move from country to country...
Why freeze it if you keep it in the fridge for just one week? Depending on what it is, but generally most things last just fine for a week or more in the fridge.
They're probably asking because it depends on the quantity they're making.
I had a friend who asked me if he could freeze the soup recipe I sent him and while confused I told him it shouldn't be an issue.
Later on I'm visiting and he tells me he's making that soup. I walk into the kitchen to see a 40qt/37L pot being cooked. No wonder why he was asking if he could freeze it because the poor fella would have needed to eat 3L of soup a day to finish before it went bad if he didn't freeze it.
2 bayleaves salt and pepper suit to taste. 2qt water cook/simmer for 1-2hr
I muck around with it sometimes... thrown siracha, hot peppers, sausage in it to varying degrees of tastiness.
I generally sauté the onions, celery and fennel together then add the rest. It can all be done in one pot for convenience.