Giving Tuesday is a global day of generosity, but here in Santa Barbara County, it’s a chance to make a personal, local difference.
At Noozhawk, we believe in the power of community and the impact that even small acts of kindness can have when directed close to home.
Our Good for Santa Barbara County Nonprofit Section is designed to connect you with local organizations doing vital work. Whether it’s a donation, a few hours of your time, or simply helping spread the word, your contribution matters.
Explore our Giving Guide today and help brighten the season for those who need it most!
In this interview, Noozhawk spoke with Steven Sharpe, Executive Director at Food From The Heart, to learn more about the nonprofit’s vision of preparing nutritious healing meals delivered by caring volunteers to those in crisis due to illness, injury, or under the care of hospice, visiting nurses or other medical professionals.
Food From The Heart
Question: What is the name of your nonprofit, and what is its mission?
Answer: Food From The Heart. In every community, there are individuals who are home-bound and suffering from illness or injury who have no support network. Part of the healing process is being cared for nutritionally. Food From The Heart recognizes that need by preparing nutritious healing meals delivered by caring volunteers to those in crisis due to illness, injury, or under the care of hospice, visiting nurses or other medical professionals. Food From The Heart does not charge for this service.
Q: How long has your organization been serving the community, and who founded it?
A: We are celebrating our 31st year of continuous operation in 2025. Our organization was founded by Evelyn Jacob in response to the AIDS crisis and her desire to provide nutritious meals to individuals battling that illness. Evelyn still volunteers for our organization each week.
Q: How is your nonprofit primarily funded, and what are its biggest needs right now?
A: Like most non-profits, we are funded through a variety of sources, all contributed since we have no fee for service. Our primary funding comes from individual donations and foundation grants. Funding is always a big need of our organization, and continues to be, due to the rising costs we are facing in food, packaging and other operational facets of our organization.
Q: How do you allocate your funding to support your mission?
A We are very fortunate in that our model is that of a volunteer-driven organization, the bulk of our week-to-week work is done by volunteers, and we therefore operate on a relatively small budget given the numbers we serve. We have four part-time employees: our Executive Director, our Chef and two Facility Assistants, none of whom work more than 15-25 hours per week. The remainder of our funds are primarily directed to the purchase of the food and packaging needed to prepare our weekly meals and our facility costs of rent, maintenance and insurance.
Q: How is your team structured? Have there been any major changes in your operations since you started?
A: We operate Monday – Wednesday from approx. 8 am – 2 pm. The bulk of our operation is managed and staffed by volunteers, and between 60-80 volunteers engage with us each week. Our chef, Aaron, oversees our entire food prep and packaging operation, including designing our weekly menus. He depends on our volunteer sous-chef, Bonnie, who supports him all 3 days each week and helps supervise the other volunteers. We also have a uniquely dedicated volunteer and board member, Kathy, who oversees our client intake and weekly deliveries.
In fact, calls to our organization are directly forwarded to her cell phone, since most involve the needs of our clients or referrals. Our Executive Director, Steven, manages fundraising, communications and overall organization management, working very closely with our Board Chair, Kelly. We have not experienced any significant changes in our operations since our inception with the exception that we have steadily grown, and our weekly bags of meals have become significantly more “robust” through the years, with multiple meals served each week. A significant recent change is that last year we added a delivery route to Carpinteria, so we now serve between Carpinteria and Goleta, including the unincorporated areas.
Q: How can people get involved with your nonprofit or volunteer?
A: Interested individuals can fill out a form on our website, and we will contact them. We are fortunate in many ways that we have many dedicated volunteers, and truly have limited availability in our kitchen for more “helpers” but we are happy to bring people in as we have availability, and we are always looking for delivery drivers.
Q: What sets your nonprofit apart from similar organizations?
A: We do not have a fee for our service. We provide our bags of meals at no cost each week to those we serve. We deliver multiple meals in one large bag each week. Each weekly bag includes an entree, a casserole, a large container of soup, a fresh green salad, a cold deli-style salad, a small dessert cake and bags of fresh fruit and bread. Our meal deliveries are intended to feed our clients for up to 5 days. We focus mainly on low-income individuals managing illness and who generally live alone. Our primary focus is offering our clients healthy nutritious food options and addressing their food-insecurity concerns, helping them direct their limited funds on other necessities such as rent and medical expenses.
Q: Can you share a fun fact or little-known detail about your nonprofit that would surprise people?
A: This will not surprise everyone, but we operate a very successful second program, our Harvest Program, that is completely volunteer managed and staffed. Each week, a team of volunteers harvests fruit from private homes and orchards that would otherwise fall to the ground and go to waste. This fruit is included in the bags of meals we provide to our clients each week. However, we harvest much more fruit than we need for our clients, and the excess fruit is donated to multiple other charities serving those in need, including the Foodbank. Approx. 60% of the fruit we harvest each week is donated to other organizations.
Q: Could you share a story or two about individuals whose lives have been positively impacted by your organization?
A: We often receive letters from our clients, and here is a recent letter we received which clearly indicates our impact.
“Dear Food From The Heart:
The food you bring is so wonderful, and I feel the care and heart involved in making it. My appreciation goes above and beyond, because it literally keeps me nourished and alive. My hands are unfortunately so crippled that it is very hard for me to cook for myself. If it is possible and within your budget to keep me as a client, I would be so very grateful. I know many others are in need and deserving, and I pray that you can continue with me. You feed me all week and save me a lot of struggle. I am encouraging donations to you from others who have the capacity. Mostly, I just want to say “Thank You So Much”!”
-Sherry
Q: Is there anything important or unique about your nonprofit that we haven’t covered yet?
A: In the entire 30 years of operation, we have never missed a weekly delivery due to the fact that we know how much our clients depend on our support for their nutritional and “community connection” needs. Our delivery volunteers have the same route each week, and they often serve as the “eyes and ears” for our clients, and are able to quickly report any significant changes to an individual so we can contact their medical provider or next-of-kin to ensure their safety.
Click here to support Food From The Heart’s mission to provide high-quality, trauma-informed childcare, comprehensive, culturally-sensitive family support, and visionary community leadership.
Check out Noozhawk’s Guide to Giving for a full list of nonprofits to donate to this giving season.
If you would like to include your nonprofit in our Good for Santa Barbara section and Giving Guide click HERE.