As we wrapped up June, along with our 2022-2023 fiscal year, we are shocked by the total number of meals we delivered. Mama’s Kitchen home delivered a record-breaking 816,920 medically tailored meals – a 22% increase over the prior year. While this number may not seem surprising to all our amazing volunteers who help us… Read the full article »
A New Name for the Home-Delivered Meal Service
Mama’s Kitchen is thrilled to share we have renamed our primary program (formerly the Home- Delivered Meal Service) to the Medically Tailored Meal Service. As San Diego’s only provider of medically tailored meals (MTM), it was time to give the program a name reflective of the quality and distinction that service provides. What exactly is… Read the full article »
Mama’s Kitchen CEO Alberto Cortés Announces Retirement After 21 Years at the Helm
Respected leader set to retire in January 2024 after successfully building the organization into the largest nonprofit provider of home-delivered meals in San Diego County. Alberto Cortés announces that after 21 years of dedicated service, he will be retiring from his position as Chief Executive Officer of Mama’s Kitchen, after elevating the organization into a… Read the full article »
An Homage to the Mama’s Kitchen Palentines
Extravagant red rose bouquets, heart-shaped boxes filled with decadent chocolate truffles, fancy dinner outings. These are just a few of the many grandiose gestures that come to mind when we think of the day to celebrate love. A day to sweep your partner off their feet and show them your infinite and undying love to… Read the full article »
Nancy and Sandy Galentine’s
Nancy and Sandy are two close friends with a bond that has spanned half a century. They first met in Tierrasanta, a neighborhood in San Diego, California, and have been inseparable ever since. Nancy, a retired educator, spent her career shaping young minds as a kindergarten teacher and then went on to serve as a… Read the full article »
Mama’s Red Velvet Cookies Recipe
This recipe will WHISK you off your feet! Valentine’s Day has always been a day of showing love. In our attempts to spread the spirit of St. Valentine to our clients, our very own Executive Chef Jason in collaboration with our Registered Dietitians concocted the PERFECT Valentine’s day treat. They are diabetic-friendly, moderated, nutritious,… Read the full article »
Alberto Cortés Receives Spirit of Carol Sigelman Award
On October 28th, our CEO Alberto Cortés was honored by The North County Philanthropy Council for their dedication to our mission and vision. Alberto had the honor of accepting the “Spirit of Carol Sigelman Award” for showing his prowess in the nonprofit sector for 32 years! In the last two years alone, Alberto’s leadership has helped… Read the full article »
Alberto Cortés Named One of Top 50 Latino Leaders of Influence 2022
Mama’s Kitchen CEO Alberto Cortés has been named one of the Top 50 Latino Leaders of Influence 2022 by the San Diego Business Journal and the San Diego County Imperial Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He was honored with this outstanding accolade during a ceremony held at The University Club in San Diego on October… Read the full article »
Alberto Cortés celebrates 20 years as CEO of Mama’s Kitchen
This fall, Alberto Cortés celebrates his 20th year as Executive Director/CEO of Mama’s Kitchen. Alberto’s impactful leadership over the past two decades has shaped Mama’s Kitchen into a San Diego institution and indispensable resource for the most vulnerable members of our community. We sat down with past board chair Tom D’Amico to reminisce about Alberto’s… Read the full article »
Messages of gratitude from our clients
Messages of happiness, healing, rejoice, and gratitude are, of course, some of our favorite types of messages we receive from our clients. Throughout the year, we receive meaningful notes that remind us why cook and deliver thousands of meals each week and work so hard to support our neighbors in need. Read some of these… Read the full article »
Volunteer Spotlight: The Stech Family
Meet Summer and Brad Stech, a San Diego couple who gives back to their community by volunteering as a family. Brad and Summer have been long time friends. Both attended the same middle school and high school in San Antonio, Texas. In high school both ran with the same crowd and ended up having theatre… Read the full article »
American Heart Month: Ways to Join the Effort
A healthier heart can lead to a healthier life! This month, we hope to encourage and motivate everyone to adopt heart-healthy behaviors, together. Research shows having social support and personal networks makes getting regular physical activity, eating healthy, losing weight, reducing stress, and quitting smoking easier. Here are five ways to get started! Encourage Healthy… Read the full article »
Heart-Healthy Recipes
Show your heart some love by preparing tasty, nutritious meals for American Heart Month! When we take care of our hearts as part of our self-care, we set an example for those around us to do the same. Bon appétit! Breakfast Egg White Omelet With Diced Tomato, Sliced Avocado & Cotija Cheese Ingredients: Dice Tomatoes… Read the full article »
Mama’s Kitchen Completes Diabetes Pilot Program Evaluation
Every day, our staff and volunteers witness the impact of our medically tailored meals and nutrition intervention. But aside from first-hand experience, research and data collected around medically tailored meals shows how services like ours can improve overall health and can slow or stop disease progression. When we first began serving individuals with uncontrolled type… Read the full article »
Mama’s Kitchen Hires New Chief Operating Officer
Mama’s Kitchen is happy to announce that our organization has added a new position to its executive staff, hiring our first Chief Operating Officer (COO). Andrew Picard will begin serving as Mama’s Kitchen’s COO on February 1, 2022. This newly created position will increase our organization’s capacity in both breadth and complexity, while assuring continued… Read the full article »
Mama’s Kitchen Client: Jaymee
Cancer does not descriminate, it affects people across all ages, races and classes. Our client Jaymee J. is all too familiar with “That Sh*t Called Cancer.” She was at the top of her career as a former TV host, and movie personality in the Philippines when she was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer in… Read the full article »
Mama’s Kitchen’s Response To The Supply Chain Crisis
While the pandemic has started to improve, a second crisis has hit the nation and our own community – a global supply chain disruption. As Mama’s Kitchen’s Executive Chef, I want to share with you, our stakeholders, how this impacts Mama’s Kitchen, and how we are responding and preparing for this crisis, which is expected… Read the full article »
A Year After Expansion: Reflections From Our New Chronic Kidney Disease Nutrition Program
Exactly twelve months ago, Mama’s Kitchen was enrolling our first client into our new Chronic Kidney Disease Nutrition Program. When we received a generous grant from the Cushman Foundation to expand our mission scope and launch this program, we predicted serving 15 clients the first year, and 90 by the third year. Twelve months later, we have served 92 clients, close to six… Read the full article »
18 Months In
For a majority of us, the past 18 months have been defined by change. But for too many, that change has meant not having a safe and secure source of healthy food for themselves or their family. Mama’s Kitchen has served more than 1 million healthy, medically tailored meals since the beginning of the pandemic – representing 10% of the 10 million meals we have served since our… Read the full article »
How Celebrate National Nonprofit Day
Every year, Mama’s Kitchen helps thousands of San Diegans who are vulnerable to hunger due to critical illness by providing medically tailored meals, nutrition counseling and pantry services – all at no cost. In fiscal year 2021, Mama’s Kitchen home delivered 599,938 medically tailored meals to individuals affected by cancer, HIV, type 2 diabetes, congestive… Read the full article »