A volunteer named Tony ladled soup from a giant stockpot and poured it into containers.
In the busy working kitchen of Santa Barbara's Organic Soup Kitchen, the journey begins for the soups. They end up on the spoons of people in need — including low-income seniors and those suffering from cancer or chronic illness.
"We're not your typical soup kitchen," said Andrea Carroccio, the organization's CEO. "We make soup for cancer patients and those with chronic illnesses, and then we deliver it. We do everything in-house, from procuring the produce from local farmers, making the soup, delivering the soup, and transporting the soup to our distribution center."
The non-profit has served more than 3 million nutrient-dense soup meals to residents in Santa Barbara County and beyond since it started in 2009.
"The vegetables, spices, and herbs we use have medicinal healing properties," said Carroccio. "Our soups are consistently made with 100% organic coconut cream. It's got MCT (medium-chain triglycerides), which is a healthy oil for when cancer patients are going through chemo. It's called chemo brain, so that helps them with healthy fats for the brain."
"There's so much that food helps them with the healing process, and that's just one part," she added. "They have their other modalities that are helping them heal as well, but I feel that food is the thing that gives them that comfort while they're going through their treatments," she said.
Why soup, of all foods?
"A lot of cancer patients and those with chronic illnesses are fatigued," Carroccio explained. "They're constantly tired. They have brain fog. They don't have the time or the energy to cook. That's where our nutrient-dense soup meals come in handy. It's like a meal in a bowl. You get all your vitamins and everything in that one bowl, and it can be two to three meals for them sometimes, depending on their appetite levels."
Organic Soup Kitchen volunteers like Dianna Joiner prepare and deliver soup meals to the community. She's been volunteering at the kitchen for 17 years.
"It's for cancer patients, so it's packed with a lot of nutrients, vitamins, and I think it's really good when your body is ailing, and you need something hot and warm," said Joiner.
These are not your standard watery canned soups.
"We've got our kale. You can see the kale, the beans, the onions, the celery, carrots, the quinoa, the coconut milk, and a little bit of tomato. That's why it's got all those different colors," shared Carrocio.
The Organic Soup Kitchen also solicits help from community members to ensure it can continue providing free, nutritious meals that support the health and wellness of people in need.
