San Diego’s largest non-profit provider of home-delivered meals, and only non-profit provider of medically tailored meals becomes the first organization on the West Coast to receive accreditation, and second in the nation.

Mama’s Kitchen, the San Diego non-profit dedicated to providing medically tailored meals (MTM) to people living with critical illnesses, is the first organization on the West Coast, and second in the nation to earn accreditation from the Food is Medicine Coalition (FIMC).

Mama’s Kitchen’s MTM program offers meals that are medically tailored by registered dietitian nutritionists (RDN) to meet the nutritional needs associated with clients’ severe, complex, and/or chronic illnesses. As part of the medically tailored meal intervention, clients receive RDN education and coaching to support long-term management of their nutrition and overall health.

As the food is medicine movement grows nationally and the White House’s National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health includes a focus on medically tailored meals, the FIMC MTM Accreditation creates a reliable set of standards to ensure high quality and consistency for medically tailored meals nationwide.

Through the accreditation process, FIMC’s Membership and Accreditation Committee verified Mama’s Kitchen’s status as an agency that provides high-quality, medically tailored meal interventions that meet the needs of individuals living with severe, complex, or chronic health conditions.

“Mama’s Kitchen was invited to undergo the roughly six-month process of evaluation and audit for FIMC Accreditation,” says Alissa Wassung, executive director of FIMC. “We commend Mama’s Kitchen for this commitment to high-quality service provision and congratulate them for achieving accreditation. Their accreditation demonstrates leadership and dedication to advancing the food is medicine movement and ensuring equitable access to lifesaving interventions for those who need them most.”

The rigorous FIMC accreditation process examines numerous aspects of each agency’s operation and MTM service, including nutritional quality, meal packaging and labeling, delivery model, volunteer and client services and food safety practices.

Mama’s Kitchen: a legacy of leadership in medically tailored, nutritious meals

Established in 1990, Mama’s Kitchen started as a volunteer response to the AIDS epidemic and now supports San Diego residents living with several different critical illnesses, including HIV, cancer, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and chronic kidney disease. Delivering nearly 15,000 meals a week and nearing its 12 millionth meal delivery, Mama’s Kitchen is the largest nonprofit provider of medically tailored, home-delivered meals in San Diego. The organization has never turned away an eligible client–a streak they strive to maintain.

The FIMC MTM Accreditation synthesizes the coalition’s nearly four decades of medically tailored meal experience into a measurable standard. This standard offers nonprofit meal providers the opportunity to earn an accreditation specifically for the proven medically tailored meal intervention. The accreditation signals verified credibility of an operation and ensures fidelity to the high quality of MTM interventions regardless of location, size, types of critical illnesses served, or number of clients catered to.

“Mama’s Kitchen has been nourishing critically ill San Diegans for over 30 years, and receiving this accreditation from FIMC both reinforces our standing as a leader in the field, and as an organization that centers quality in our entire operation,” says Mama’s Kitchen CEO Eva Matthews. “This accreditation is formal recognition of the excellent services we provide to our clients, and signals a level of service that can be trusted.”

To learn more about FIMC Accreditation visit fimcoalition.org, and for more ways to support Mama’s Kitchen through volunteering, donations and more, visit MamasKitchen.org.

ABOUT FOOD IS MEDICINE COALITION

The Food is Medicine Coalition (FIMC) is a national coalition of nonprofit organizations dedicated to providing medically tailored meals, groceries, and nutrition support to individuals living with severe and chronic illnesses. FIMC advances equitable access to these life-saving interventions through policy change, research, and best practices. Visit fimcoalition.org for more information. FIMC agencies created the medically tailored meal model nearly 40 years ago and maintain the nutrition standards for the intervention.

ABOUT MAMA’S KITCHEN

Mama’s Kitchen was established in 1990 by a San Diego caregiver who enlisted volunteers to prepare and deliver free meals to neighbors who were sick with HIV/AIDS and unable to cook for themselves. The organization realized that a reliable home-delivered meal service was needed to ensure that these individuals would continue to receive nutritious, life-sustaining food. Since then, the organization has expanded its Medically Tailored Meal Service program to other at-risk populations including those living with cancer (2006), individuals with heart failure and diabetes (2018), and individuals with chronic kidney disease (2020). Beyond medically tailored meals, clients also receive nutritional counseling from registered dietitians. In 2022, the organization delivered its 11 millionth meal.

For 33 years, Mama’s Kitchen has never turned away a client who qualified for its services. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization responded to an overall 50 percent increase in demand. Mama’s Kitchen continues to provide emergency response efforts, nutrition education services, and more than 816,000 home-delivered medically tailored meals to more than 2,600 individuals and families in San Diego County annually. Mama’s Kitchen is San Diego’s largest non-profit provider of delivered meals and the only provider of medically tailored nutrition. Learn more and make a donation at www.mamaskitchen.org. Connect with Mama’s Kitchen on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.