Mama’s Kitchen Calls on Community for Volunteer Help

Since 1990, Mama’s Kitchen volunteers have facilitated the delivery of more than 10 million nutritious, medically tailored meals to San Diegans affected by HIV, cancer, congestive heart failure, type 2 diabetes, and chronic kidney disease. As the nonprofit prepares to deliver its 11 millionth meal later this year, it is calling on the community for additional volunteer support to help with critical organization operations, ranging from kitchen and staging to meal delivery and office support.

“We are still feeling the impact of the pandemic in many ways,” says Andrew Picard, chief operations officer, Mama’s Kitchen. “We are still seeing more critically ill community members enrolling in our Home-Delivered Meal Service. We are in need of more volunteer support, especially for delivery drivers to ensure each client has access to this lifeline. We currently need 200-300 additional volunteers to meet the community needs we anticipate for the rest of this year and into 2023.”

Clients of Mama’s Kitchen say that the services the organization provides are a critical part of their overall care. They look forward to seeing the Mama’s Kitchen volunteer delivery drivers as much as they look forward to receiving their free nutritious meals.

“Sometimes after a chemo treatment, I go home feeling so weak and ill I can’t even get out of bed,” says Jaime, Mama’s Kitchen cancer client. “But knowing that Mama’s Kitchen will provide me with the meals that I need to gain strength is so comforting. I know that I’m never going to go hungry. It’s such a big blessing.”

Nonprofits often see a flood of volunteer interest on holidays, but organizations like Mama’s Kitchen need volunteer support year-round. Mama’s Kitchen requests the community’s help, insisting “no amount of help is too small.” Volunteer shifts are two to four-hour time blocks to make it convenient for community members to help out.

“At first I thought I would volunteer occasionally to help deliver meals to neighbors in need,” says Richard Moore, a Mama’s Kitchen volunteer delivery driver. “But that has evolved into delivering every Tuesday and Friday afternoon, and those afternoons have become a rewarding part of every week. I have clients I deliver to who are so glad to see me and I know both the food and my visit are making a huge difference in their lives. I’d encourage everyone to volunteer to help others in some way.”

The organization has volunteer openings in the following areas:

• Meal Delivery: Volunteers are needed to deliver meals on Tuesdays and Fridays for three-hour afternoon delivery routes. Delivery drivers are generally assigned to 10-15 client drop-offs during the window. Meal delivery volunteers must be fully COVID-19 vaccinated.
• Kitchen and Staging: Volunteers are needed Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Mama’s Kitchen headquarters, located in the Fairmount Park neighborhood of San Diego. Volunteer shifts are two to four hours in length. Kitchen and staging volunteers assist with plating entrees, packing and loading food bags, and other kitchen prep tasks as assigned. Volunteers in kitchen and staging must be fully COVID-19 vaccinated.
• Office Support: Volunteer help in the Mama’s Kitchen office is needed Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Mama’s Kitchen headquarters, located in the Fairmount Park neighborhood of San Diego. Office support volunteers help with general office tasks, such as filing, organizing, or answering phones. Office support volunteers must be fully COVID-19 vaccinated.

Mama’s Kitchen offers a variety of shifts to accommodate the schedules of prospective volunteers. Interested community members are encouraged to visit mamaskitchen.org/volunteer and complete the online volunteer application. From there, they can select a 30-minute virtual volunteer orientation to attend.

Individuals and families are encouraged to apply. Youth volunteers ages 13+ must be accompanied by a parent or guardian; youth volunteers ages 16+ do not require accompaniment from a parent or guardian. For questions about volunteer opportunities, contact Mama’s Kitchen Director of Volunteer Engagement Philip Chao at philip@mamaskitchen.org or 619-233-6262.

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 meal delivery service was needed to ensure that these individuals would continue to receive nutritious, life-sustaining food. In 2004, Mama’s Pantry was launched to serve HIV+ San Diegans who are healthy enough to cook but unable to purchase nutritious food due to extremely low income. Since then, the organization has expanded its Home-Delivered Meal Service program to other at-risk populations including those battling 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 2021, the organization delivered its 10 millionth meal.

For 32 years, Mama’s Kitchen has never turned away a client who qualified for its services. During the current COVID-19 pandemic, the organization responded to an overall 50 percent increase in demand. Mama’s Kitchen will continue to provide emergency response efforts and currently provides home-delivered meals and nutrition education services to over 2,000 individuals and families in San Diego County annually. Learn more and donate at www.mamaskitchen.org. Connect with Mama’s Kitchen on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.