Organic Soup Kitchen

What Organic Soup Kitchen does

Organic Soup Kitchen is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit incorporated in California and headquartered in Santa Barbara, founded in 2009 to deliver handcrafted, Mediterranean-inspired, organic soups (marketed under the SoupMeals brand) to Santa Barbara County residents living with cancer, chronic illness, or disability, most of whom also face financial hardship. The organization reports delivery of 3+ million bowls since inception, sourced at minimum 90% organic with a minimum of 15 ingredients per meal, and produced through a proprietary stabilization method comprising blanching and roasting to deactivate enzymes followed by vacuum sealing in BPA-free restricted-oxygen packaging that yields up to three weeks of refrigerated shelf life. Offerings span a direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront and in-person pickup at the Distribution & Education Center, plus two assistance programs (Medi-Cal Medically Tailored Meals delivered weekly with a 12-week minimum, and a Nutrition & Food Security Program for income-qualified residents), the Conscious Caregiving wellness program for caregivers, a Souper Hero monthly donor program, and the Perennial Harvest planned-giving track.

The commercial and distribution model is a Social Enterprise hybrid in which fee-based services (soup retail at roughly $20 per 21-oz container with a four-soup delivery minimum; gift certificates from $50 to $1,000) sit alongside grant- and donation-funded program delivery and healthcare reimbursement revenue. Distribution runs on a volunteer-powered Wednesday route across Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, Summerland, and Goleta with 15-20 weekly drivers, supplemented since November 2022 by a DoorDash partnership that made OSK the first Santa Barbara nonprofit on the platform. The August 2024 partnership with CenCal Health added a structurally distinct revenue stream — managed-care reimbursement for Medically Tailored Meals delivered to qualifying Medi-Cal members — and contributed $100,000 toward a $500,000 capital campaign for operational expansion. Ingredient sourcing leverages a food-rescue pipeline of approximately 1,200 lbs per month of excess produce from Veggie Rescue, Trinity Gardens, and the Saturday Farmers Market, supporting both cost structure and ESG positioning. The paid team is small (1-10 employees) under Executive Director Anthony Carroccio, with certification credentials including the Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency, Charity Navigator 4-Star rating, and a 2023 Congressional Award of Honor.

Name

Organic Soup Kitchen

Legal name

Organic Soup Kitchen

Website

https://organicsoupkitchen.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Organic Soup Kitchen is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Santa Barbara that produces Mediterranean-inspired, organic, nutrient-dense soups and delivers them — alongside medically tailored meal programs — to low-income county residents living with cancer, chronic illness, or disability.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Barbara

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Soup Product Sales: Sale of handcrafted, nutrient-dense organic soups through e-commerce storefront. Products include various SoupMeals priced at approximately $20 each, with 4-soup minimum for delivery.
2. Donations and Fundraising: One-time and recurring donations from individual donors, including the Souper Hero monthly giving program. Also includes capital campaigns for operational expansion.
3. Medi-Cal Medically Tailored Meals Reimbursement: Fee-based services to Medi-Cal members with qualifying medical diagnoses through partnership with CenCal Health. Revenue generated from healthcare system reimbursements for medically tailored meal delivery.
4. Gift Certificates: Digital gift cards sold in denominations from $50 to $1,000, allowing recipients to purchase soup through the website.
5. Planned Giving (Perennial Harvest): Legacy giving program accepting planned gifts including bequests in wills, retirement account designations, and charitable annuities to ensure long-term sustainability.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Organic Soup Kitchen produces and delivers handcrafted, Mediterranean-inspired, plant-based organic soups marketed as medically tailored meals. Products are sold directly through an e-commerce storefront and a physical Distribution & Education Center, and delivered at low or no cost to individuals with cancer, chronic illness, and financial hardship in Santa Barbara County. The organization also operates a Medi-Cal Medically Tailored Meals program in partnership with CenCal Health and a Nutrition and Food Security Program for income-qualified residents.

Product overview

Organic Soup Kitchen is a nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of Mediterranean-inspired, nutrient-dense soup products and medically tailored meal programs. The core offering consists of handcrafted, organic, plant-based SoupMeals available for online purchase and through two assistance programs: the Medi-Cal Medically Tailored Meals Program for qualifying health plan members and the Nutrition and Food Security Program for income-qualified residents. The organization also provides supporting programs including Conscious Caregiving for caregivers, Perennial Harvest legacy giving, and the Souper Hero monthly donor program. All soup products feature a minimum of 90% organic ingredients, are flash-frozen for stability, and are delivered weekly to clients in Santa Barbara County.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SoupMeals: Brand name for the organization's prepared plant-based, nutrient-dense soup meals delivered to clients.

Products and services

• SoupMeals

Quantifiable outcome

• 3+ million bowls delivered to Santa Barbara residents since 2009
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• CenCal HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 August 2024Industry-leading partnership with CenCal Health making Organic Soup Kitchen the first Santa Barbara County agency to provide Medically Tailored Meals to CenCal health plan members. CenCal Health donated $100,000 towards a $500,000 capital campaign for operational expansion. The partnership enables Medi-Cal members with qualifying medical diagnoses to receive up to 7 SoupMeals per week delivered to their homes.
• DoorDashflagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 17 November 2022First nonprofit in City of Santa Barbara to partner with DoorDash to expand soupmeal delivery. The partnership extends delivery reach beyond Organic Soup Kitchen's volunteer driver network, enabling faster and more flexible meal delivery options for community members.
• Veggie RescuecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal partner providing excess produce that would otherwise go to waste. Organic Soup Kitchen rescues approximately 1,200 pounds of excess produce per month from local farmers including Veggie Rescue, Trinity Gardens, and Saturday farmers market, supporting the organization's food security and sustainability initiatives.
• Trinity GardenscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal farm partner contributing excess produce to Organic Soup Kitchen's food rescue program. Partnership supports the organization's food security program by utilizing produce that doesn't make it to market.
• Saturday Farmers MarketminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal Saturday farmers market partnership providing access to excess produce for Organic Soup Kitchen's food rescue and stabilization operations.
• The PlatformcoreOthersThe Platform is the commercial building location housing Organic Soup Kitchen's Distribution & Education Center at 126 E Haley St Ste A4 in Santa Barbara.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Amy's Kitchen: Large established organic and plant-based prepared food manufacturer with broad soup and frozen meal lines. Comparable as a scaled organic prepared-soup producer competing for the same health-conscious consumer and shelf-stable packaged soup category as SoupMeals.
• Pacific Foods: Major organic broth, soup, and plant-based beverage manufacturer. Comparable as a scaled incumbent in organic packaged soups, the same shelf-stable category as OSK's SoupMeals retail line.
• Imagine Foods (Imagine): Established organic soup, broth, and plant-based beverage brand owned by Hain Celestial. Comparable scaled incumbent competing in the same organic soup and bone broth retail category as SoupMeals.

Direct peers

• Project Open Hand: San Francisco nonprofit providing medically tailored meals and nutrition services to seniors and people living with serious illness. Directly comparable MTM nonprofit with volunteer model, similar disease-state focus, and growing CalAIM Medi-Cal contracting in California.
• Food & Friends: Washington DC-area nonprofit providing medically tailored meals to people living with HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other serious illnesses. Directly comparable MTM nonprofit with home-delivery and volunteer-supported operations.
• God's Love We Deliver: New York-based nonprofit that cooks and home-delivers medically tailored meals to people living with serious illness. Closely comparable to OSK's mission, medically tailored meal model, volunteer-driven operations, and payor partnerships.
• Ceres Community Project: Northern California nonprofit that engages youth volunteers to prepare and deliver medically tailored meals. Comparable California MTM peer with similar volunteer-driven, plant-forward approach.
• Moveable Feast: Maryland-based nonprofit delivering medically tailored meals to neighbors living with chronic illnesses. Comparable MTM operator with similar volunteer delivery and chronic-disease client mix to OSK.
• MANNA: Philadelphia-based nonprofit that prepares and delivers medically tailored meals to clients across a multi-county region. Closely comparable in food-as-medicine model, client base, and use of nutrition to support chronic-illness outcomes.

Regional players

• Meals on Wheels of Santa Barbara County: Local nonprofit delivering prepared meals to seniors and the homebound in the same Santa Barbara County service area. Comparable as a regional nonprofit meal provider targeting overlapping vulnerable populations, though not medically tailored.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/OrganicSoupKitchen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/organic-soup-kitchen

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Organic Soup Kitchen