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 times our first-year prediction.

Why is demand so high?
Chronic kidney disease is a growing public health crisis. An estimated 40% of seniors have CKD. In San Diego alone, around 5,000 people have stage 4 or end-stage renal disease. By end-stage, their only options are dialysis or a transplant – both costly, invasive, and risky treatments.  

To health professionals, it has become clear, we need to stop this devastating and costly public health crisis. A crisis that kills more people than breast cancer or prostate cancer every year.  

This is why our team felt the need to expand our mission scope, even during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. We needed to join the fight and empower our community to take control over this disease. 

Where Mama’s Kitchen comes in
Diet and lifestyle changes – both things Mama’s Kitchen addresses through medically tailored meals and nutrition education – can actually stop or slow the progression of kidney disease. So when we announced the launch of our Chronic Kidney Disease Nutrition Program, the dire need became even clearer. The referrals came in at a faster rate than ever before. Our referral partners, including San Diego’s largest healthcare providers and community clinics, were elated and relieved to have additional resources for their clients, resources they have seen help other patients with diabetes and congestive heart failure.  

Our staff and referral partners regularly witness how our healthy, home-delivered meals, combined with nutrition education, not only improves our clients’ more immediate health, but also educates them on how to manage their illness through proper nutrition in the future. Once feeling stronger and empowered with knowledge, our clients can break the devastating progression of chronic kidney disease. 

What’s more, our service can drastically decrease the financial and physical burden on our taxed healthcare system. Data shows that cost to US health plans increase exponentially with each CKD stage progression, and with end-stage renal disease costing on average $122,000 per patient. Our Chronic Kidney Disease Nutrition program provides a cost-effective alternative that can reengineer the healthcare paradigms providing more preventative and individualized care.

Looking Ahead
As we venture into our second year of service for our Chronic Kidney Disease Nutrition Program, our team is preparing for continued growth in demand in the months and years to come. We know that this newest expansion will have a significant impact on not only thousands of lives, but the San Diego community, and healthcare system as a whole.  

Learn more about our Chronic Kidney Disease Nutrition Program.
Click here to access our new client referral form.