AniMeals Partnership with Helen Woodward and the City of Chula Vista

For someone living with a critical illness, a pet can be a constant source of comfort, companionship and love. But when shopping and preparing food becomes difficult, caring for a pet can become difficult, too.

Through our AniMeals pilot, Mama’s Kitchen is helping clients keep their beloved pets fed, cared for, and by their side, so no one has to consider giving up a companion when they need them most.

Medically Tailored Groceries Pilot

Mama’s Kitchen is excited to launch a new Medically Tailored Grocery pilot for eligible Ryan White clients who are able to cook for themselves but may face health-related barriers to grocery shopping.

Participants receive up to 12 weeks of medically tailored groceries, nutrition education and recipes, providing the ingredients and support to prepare approximately 21 nourishing meals each week.

This pilot gives clients more choice and independence while helping them continue to prioritize their health at home.

Meet Noelle: Finding Strength in Her Village

When Noelle got the call from her doctor telling her the results were back, that she had stage 4 breast cancer, she was sitting in the stands at her 7-year-old son’s flag football game. She quietly walked to her car, where she gave herself just five minutes to cry. Then she went back to the game, picked up her pom-poms and watched her son, Logan, catch a running pass from the quarterback to win the game. Or at least, that is the way Logan tells it.

When people say, “It takes a village,” Noelle is the kind of person you imagine at the center of it. She is the team mom for her sons’ baseball and football teams. She works with the school’s parent committee to raise funds and create meaningful experiences for students. She is the person making sure everyone else feels welcome, included and cared for.

What many people do not realize is that when you have spent your life caring for others, reaching out to ask for help can feel almost impossible. When Noelle was diagnosed with breast cancer, her first instinct was to stay quiet and deal with it privately. At first, she shared the news with only a small group of trusted friends. The response was immediate and overwhelming. Friends offered comfort, rides and help with the boys. One friend also mentioned an organization she worked with: Mama’s Kitchen.

As treatment began to take its toll, Noelle’s doctor referred her to Mama’s Kitchen for medically tailored meals. Suddenly, one piece of daily life became easier.

The meals came directly to her home, so on the days chemotherapy left her exhausted, she did not have to shop or cook. They were tailored to support her nutritional needs during treatment while also providing food she could confidently serve to her family. For Noelle, that mattered. She was not only trying to take care of herself. She was still a mom.

In addition to 7-year-old Logan, Noelle has a 13-year-old son, Brendan. During our conversation, he came downstairs and draped his 6-foot-1 frame across his mom’s shoulders in a full-body hug. It is immediately clear that Noelle is adored. She has worked hard to raise her sons to be kind, to care about their community and to understand resilience not as pretending something difficult is not happening, but as continuing to live fully through it.

For Noelle, that means taking care of her whole health: mind, body and soul. It also means refusing to let cancer take everything. “Yeah, I may have breast cancer, but heck no, we’re still going to the beach today.”

That spirit has carried her through treatment, but so has her village: friends, family, her children, her medical team and, in one small but important way, Mama’s Kitchen.

Because sometimes the person who has always been there for everyone else needs someone to show up for her, too.

A Message From Our CEO:

Dear friends,

When people ask me what Mama’s Kitchen does, the simple answer might be that we deliver medically tailored meals to our neighbors with complex and chronic illnesses. But the truer answer is that we deliver community.

Every meal that leaves our kitchen carries the work of many hands: our culinary team who prepare vegetables at dawn, our dietitians supporting each client’s journey, volunteers who know which client likes a quick chat at the door, and donors who make sure no eligible client is turned away. A meal from Mama’s Kitchen is nourishment, but it’s also a message: you are not alone, and you have not been forgotten.

I’ve seen how much that message matters. For someone facing a serious illness, a knock at the door can be the brightest moment of the day. And for those of us doing the knocking, it’s a reminder of why we show up.

Community isn’t something we build once. We make it together, every single day.

Thank you for being a part of our table,

Eva Matthews
Chief Executive Officer

When Our Community Shows Up:

As changes to federal nutrition programs begin to affect families across our community, the need for reliable access to nutritious food remains as important as ever.

At Mama’s Kitchen, we are fortunate to have an extraordinary community of volunteers who show up week after week to help make that possible. They prepare and package meals, load delivery bags and drive routes across San Diego County, bringing nourishment and care directly to the homes of our clients.

Now, volunteering with Mama’s Kitchen can also help eligible CalFresh recipients meet required community engagement hours. Mama’s Kitchen is approved to verify qualifying volunteer service, giving community members another way to fulfill their requirements while making a meaningful difference for their neighbors.

In a changing landscape, our volunteers remain one of the constants we can count on. Whether you are volunteering to meet CalFresh requirements or simply looking for a way to give back, we are deeply grateful for every person who gives their time, energy and care to this work.

Meet Summer: A Family Tradition of Service

While Summer Stech’s son was recently filling out college applications, he asked her: “Mom, how long have I been volunteering at Mama’s Kitchen?”

“Eighteen years,” she told him.

Incredulous, he replied, “Mom, they are never going to believe I’ve been volunteering that long. I’m only 18.”

“Well, that’s the truth,” Summer said. “You started going with us to deliver meals for Mama’s Kitchen when you were six weeks old.”

That story says a lot about Summer, and about the role Mama’s Kitchen has played in the Stech family for more than 26 years.

Summer first discovered Mama’s Kitchen in July 2000, shortly after moving to San Diego. She stopped by the organization’s booth at CityFest in Hillcrest and was immediately drawn to the passion and enthusiasm of the volunteers. Having previously volunteered with organizations serving people experiencing homelessness and people living with HIV/AIDS, she knew she had found the right fit.

She signed up that day, attended the next volunteer orientation and began delivering meals. Aside from brief breaks after the births of her three sons, she has been doing it ever since.

Before long, volunteering became a family affair. Summer’s husband and sons joined her on delivery routes, creating a tradition of service that has become part of the fabric of their family.

“Over the years, Mama’s Kitchen has given me just as much as I’ve given it,” Summer said. “It has introduced me to incredible people, reminded me of the power of compassion and human connection, and given my family a shared tradition of service that has shaped who we are.”

That commitment extends well beyond meal delivery. Summer is a special education attorney and educator whose career has centered on advocacy, equity and improving outcomes for others. Today, she also serves on Mama’s Kitchen’s Board of Directors, a role she describes as a natural next step in a relationship that has spanned decades.

For Summer, joining the board is another way to help ensure that future generations of volunteers and clients experience the same sense of community, dignity and hope that has kept her family coming back year after year.

And if her son’s college application is any indication, that next generation is already well on its way.

Meet Vivian: New Director of Nutrition Services

My passion for nutrition began in high school, when I became fascinated by nutrition’s impact on the body and athletic performance. That curiosity ultimately shaped my career.

I attended San Diego State University, where I earned my degree in Psychology and gained my first professional nutrition experience as a research assistant on the Latinos Understanding the Need for Adherence in Diabetes (LUNA-D) project. That experience deepened my understanding of the powerful connection between nutrition and health, particularly in diabetes prevention. I went on to earn a master’s degree in Public Health with a coordinated program in dietetics from Loma Linda University, becoming a Registered Dietitian, and later earned my Doctor of Public Health in Preventive Care.

Throughout my career in education, research, clinical care, community nutrition and food service, there has been one common denominator: food is medicine.

I believe medically tailored meals are an essential component of comprehensive healthcare, particularly for individuals living with complex or critical health conditions. Meals designed around a person’s specific medical and nutritional needs can support health, recovery and overall well-being while reducing barriers to healthy eating.

I am proud to work for Mama’s Kitchen, where nutrition is used as a meaningful form of care. Every meal we provide represents an opportunity to support someone’s health, dignity and quality of life. Knowing the meals we serve can make a meaningful difference in someone’s life continues to inspire me and reminds me why I chose this profession.