Organic Soup Kitchen Seeking Donations, Gifts for Annual Christmas Dinner

By Anthony Carroccio for the Organic Soup Kitchen | Published on 12.12.2012

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The South Coast-based Organic Soup Kitchen, which feeds 13,000 people per year and plans to provide food for 20,000 in the new year, is preparing for its fourth annual Christmas Day noon dinner and Christmas Eve gift-wrapping gathering.

After feeding hundreds of men, women and children at its Thanksgiving dinner last month, despite a 3 a.m. power outage, the volunteer organization is seeking donations to continue to make the holidays bright.

Donations of gifts from new toys to new clothes for children ages 1 to 15 can be dropped off at 10 a.m. Dec. 24 at the Veterans Memorial Building, 112 Cabrillo Blvd., where the holiday meals are served. For any gifts dropped off before then, donors are asked to email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to pick them up or drop them off at the UPS Store, 315 Meigs Road, Suite A 369. “Organic Soup Kitchen Box 369” should be written on the gift.

“We are seeking to build our own educational kitchen with a fundraiser next year to launch it,” Organic Soup Kitchen founder and Santa Barbara resident Anthony Carroccio said.

The Organic Soup Kitchen, or OSK, is a nonprofit organization with a social objective to provide organic, nutritious, wholesome food to marginalized sectors of Santa Barbara’s community, Carroccio said.

“It is our belief that no persons, regardless of financial status, shall compromise the quality of food they feed themselves or their families,” he said.

Carroccio said OSK envisions a sustainable, social business model that improves the quality of life for disadvantaged communities through the provision of organic, wholesome and nutritious food.

“We leverage relationships with other charities to reach as many hungry people as possible,” Carroccio said. “This allows us to serve nutritious food and encourage those in need to use the services offered by other local nonprofits (medical, psychiatric, recovery, housing etc.).”

Also coming soon, Carroccio said, said are educational dietary school programs combating obesity and early childhood illnesses.

“Our dedication to cost effective, nutritionally efficient methods of feeding the masses makes us an innovator in the nonprofit world,” he said.

OSK functions as a social business driven to bring about positive change within the community while pursuing financial, economic and environmental sustainability, Carroccio said.

“We promote resource efficiency by approaching community providers such as local, organic farmers and retailers of natural, healthy and organic food,” he said. “OSK uses fresh, organic produce to prepare nutritious meals that are low-glycemic and anti-inflammatory. For those in disadvantaged communities, this type of food is vital in providing essential vitamins and minerals that boost the immune system and promote healing.”

Carroccio said OSK is unique in that we are a social and environmentally conscious nonprofit organization with a social business objective.

Click here for more information.

— Anthony Carroccio is the founder of the Organic Soup Kitchen.

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