Food from the Heart’s Pure Mission
Santa Barbara Nonprofit Feeds Sick People with Gourmet Meals
One of the most sincere nonprofits in town, Food from the Heart provides the purest form of service to the Santa Barbara community: home-cooked meals for sick people. The organization was founded in 1994 by Evelyn Jacob, a one-woman cooking machine who initially focused on those with AIDS. But it soon became apparent that people going through other medical issues were also in need.
“There was a real need for this, and they expanded it then to encompass everybody who was going through a health crisis,” said Kelly Onnen, the current executive director. “It’s kind of a forgotten group. There are other safety nets in place for the homeless and for seniors, but homebound and ill is kind of a forgotten cause.”
Food from the Heart now serves a maximum of 160 people in Goleta and Santa Barbara who are referred from various hospitals and medical facilities around the area. Once a week, they receive what Onnen describes as all-organic, “restaurant-quality, beautifully prepared, beautifully presented food” that will typically feed one person for four to five days. There’s usually an entrée, casserole, two salads, dessert, fresh fruit, and bread. Ingredients are selected specifically for their healing qualities and prepared by Aaron Casale, their chef of five years.
