What culinary care does

Culinary Care is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2013 in Chicago by Courtney Johnson, after her father's battle with lung cancer, to deliver free, restaurant-prepared meals directly to patients during outpatient chemotherapy treatment. The core service is a Treatment Day Meal Delivery Program: Culinary Care partners with outpatient cancer centers and a network of Chicago-area restaurants — Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises is the founding restaurant partner — to provide made-to-order lunches during 4–12 hour treatment sessions. The model is complemented by a Patient Navigator Program that includes check-in phone calls, supportive texts, chemo care kits, and milestone/birthday celebrations, and the organization states that patients remain in the program for an average of one year and, in some cases, more than five years.

The revenue model is entirely donation-based and diversified across individual monthly giving ('The Line', starting at $10/month and accounting for roughly 60% of meals delivered), corporate Cook-Off team-building events, the annual Gourmand Gala, marathon fundraising teams (Chicago Marathon, Run Mag Mile), and a $1,000-per-family Sponsor a Family unit. Operating scale is modest — 1–10 staff and named leadership of Founder/President Courtney Johnson, Marketing Director Haylie Gulasey, and Oncology Dietitian Hannah Manella — and the organization has cumulatively delivered 55,000+ meals and supported 5,000+ families since founding. Distribution is entirely service-based with no proprietary technology platform; meal logistics rely on staff and volunteer delivery during 11:30 am–1:00 pm treatment windows coordinated with oncology social workers.

After twelve years as a single-market Chicago operation, Culinary Care expanded to Dallas in August 2024 (featured on FOX 4 News Dallas Fort Worth) and has publicly committed to entering five additional cities over five years, alongside an impact goal of serving 10,000 families by 2029. Patient-reported outcome metrics cited by the organization include 75% of patients regaining their appetite and 98% of recipients feeling more supported, framed against the statistic that 1 in 5 cancer deaths are linked to malnutrition. Awards include Crain's Chicago Business 20 in their 20s (2024) for the founder and a Tyson Foods Meals that Matter Hero recognition (2024).

Name

culinary care

Legal name

Culinary Care

Website

https://culinarycare.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Culinary Care is a Chicago-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, founded in 2013, that delivers free, restaurant-prepared meals and community support to families navigating outpatient cancer treatment, now operating in Chicago and Dallas.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Patient Support Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (62421), Caterers (722320)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Full-Service Catering (Off-Premise) (HSACAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Specialty & Dietary Catering (Halal, Kosher, Vegan, Allergen-Free, Medical) (THAHAKAK)

Keywords

• Nonprofit meal services
• Cancer patient support
• Community meal delivery
• Charitable nutrition programs
• Patient care services

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Monthly Donations (The Line): Monthly recurring donations from individual supporters, starting at $10/month. Provides predictable revenue for meal program operations and expansion planning.
2. Corporate Cook-Off Program: Corporate team-building events where companies participate in cooking challenges, generating donations while engaging employees in philanthropy.
3. Gourmand Gala Events: Annual fundraising gala featuring Chicago restaurants, 25-course tasting menu, generating event-based charitable contributions.
4. Marathon Running Fundraising: Community of runners raising funds through Chicago Marathon and Run Mag Mile participation, with each mile providing meals to families.
5. Family Sponsorship Donations: One-time or recurring donations specifically earmarked to sponsor a family through treatment at $1,000 per family per year.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Culinary Care is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers free, restaurant-prepared meals directly to cancer patients during chemotherapy treatment at outpatient cancer centers. Beyond meal delivery, the organization provides community support through regular check-in calls, supportive texts, chemo care kits, birthday and milestone celebrations, and holiday meals. All services are funded through charitable donations, monthly giving, corporate partnerships, and fundraising events.

Product overview

Culinary Care is a nonprofit organization offering a coordinated portfolio of meal support programs for families fighting cancer. The core offering is the Treatment Day Meal Delivery Program, which provides free, restaurant-prepared meals delivered directly to patients during chemotherapy. This is complemented by the Patient Navigator Program featuring regular check-ins, chemo care kits, and milestone celebrations. The organization operates several fundraising and engagement products: The Line monthly giving program, Corporate Cook-Off team-building events, the Gourmand Gala annual event, Chicago Marathon running team, Cookbook Club virtual community, Holiday Meal Program, and Sponsor a Family program. The portfolio is unified by the mission to make nourishment a part of everyone's cancer care, serving patients in Chicago and Dallas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Line: Culinary Care's monthly giving community program.
• Gourmand Gala
• Corporate Cook-Off
• Morsels of Might

Products and services

• Treatment Day Meal Delivery Program Free, restaurant-prepared meals delivered directly to cancer patients during chemotherapy treatment at outpatient cancer centers. Meals are made-to-order and delivered by staff, accessible for as long as a patient is receiving chemotherapy.
• The Line Monthly Giving Program Monthly donor community providing sustained financial support to fund the nonprofit's meal program. Members receive insider access to staff, volunteerism opportunities, and organizational updates.
• Corporate Cook-Off Hands-on team-building cooking experience for companies that generates donations while engaging employees in Culinary Care's cancer support mission.
• Gourmand Gala Annual signature fundraising gala bringing together Chicago's top restaurants for a multi-course tasting experience that raises funds for cancer patient meal programs.
• Patient Navigator Program Program providing regular check-in phone calls, supportive texts, birthday and milestone celebrations, chemo care kits, and additional resources to reduce isolation and provide unconditional lifeline support for as long as patients need it.
• Chicago Marathon Team Running community program where participants raise funds for Culinary Care's mission by running in marathons nationally, including the Chicago Marathon.
• Cookbook Club Monthly virtual community gathering featuring recipes, culinary themes, founder stories, tips, and updates on Culinary Care's mission.
• Holiday Meal Program Program providing ready-to-heat chef-made meals during holidays, allowing families to spend less time in the kitchen and more time together.
• Sponsor a Family Program Donation program allowing donors to sponsor a family through cancer treatment. It costs $1,000 on average to provide a full year of nourishment to a family.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1 in 5 cancer deaths are linked to malnutrition
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Lettuce Entertain You EnterprisescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Founding restaurant partner that helped launch Culinary Care through partnership with passionate volunteers. One of Chicago's most successful restaurant groups, providing early credibility and restaurant network access.
• Outpatient Cancer Centers (Chicago & Dallas)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCancer treatment centers that allow meal delivery during treatment hours, serving as the physical distribution point for the meal program. Partnership enables Culinary Care to reach patients during 4-12 hour treatment sessions.
• Chicago Restaurant PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of Chicago restaurants including Café Ba-Ba-Reeba, Hub 51, and others that prepare and donate meals. Restaurants gain visibility and community purpose while supporting cancer patients.
• Corporate Cook-Off PartnersmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerCompanies like RBC Wealth Management participate in team-building cooking events, generating donations and employee engagement while supporting the mission. Corporate partners include various Chicago businesses.
• Chicago Restaurant Week ParticipantsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRestaurants participating in Chicago Restaurant Week that donate a portion of proceeds or partner with Culinary Care to support cancer recovery mission.
• American Cancer SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferenced as resource partner providing nutrition guidance and travel tips for cancer patients. Collaboration on educational content about nutrition during treatment.
• Brilliant BalanceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with Cherylanne Skolnicki's Brilliant Balance for Cookbook Club virtual events, recipe sharing, and wellness content collaboration.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Savor Health: Commercial nutrition platform providing personalized meal planning and coaching for cancer patients and survivors. Adjacent peer in the cancer-nutrition space, offering a tech-enabled approach to a similar problem Culinary Care addresses through delivered meals.
• Cook for Your Life: Nonprofit that teaches healthy cooking to people affected by cancer through recipes, classes, and digital content. Adjacent to Culinary Care's mission of supporting cancer patients through food, though its primary mechanism is education rather than meal delivery.

Direct peers

• Open Hand Atlanta: Atlanta nonprofit that provides medically tailored meals and nutrition education to individuals living with chronic illness, including cancer. Comparable in delivering nutrition interventions as part of disease treatment and in combining meal delivery with nutrition counseling.
• Project Angel Food: Los Angeles nonprofit that prepares and delivers medically tailored meals to people affected by serious illness, including cancer, HIV/AIDS, and kidney disease. Operates a similar meal-delivery-to-the-vulnerable model and is a well-established peer in the medically tailored meal space.
• God's Love We Deliver: New York-based nonprofit that cooks and home-delivers medically tailored meals to people living with serious illnesses including cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other life-altering diagnoses. Closest functional analog to Culinary Care's model of restaurant-quality meals delivered to patients during treatment.
• Food & Friends: Washington, D.C. area nonprofit providing home-delivered medically tailored meals and groceries to people living with cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other serious illnesses. Direct operational peer delivering meals to patients during treatment.
• Ceres Community Project: California-based nonprofit providing medically tailored meals to individuals facing cancer and other serious health challenges, with a strong youth-volunteer cooking model. Comparable in mission (nourishing families through serious illness) and community-engagement approach.

Broad incumbents

• No Kid Hungry (Share Our Strength): Large national nonprofit focused on ending childhood hunger through feeding programs, advocacy, and emergency grants. Not cancer-specific but operates in the same hunger-relief nonprofit category at much greater scale and breadth.
• Meals on Wheels America: National umbrella organization supporting a network of local Meals on Wheels programs that deliver meals primarily to seniors. Much larger and broader in scope than Culinary Care, but operates in the same nonprofit meal-delivery category to vulnerable populations.
• Cancer Support Community: National nonprofit providing social and emotional support services, education, and resources to people affected by cancer. A broader incumbent in the cancer-patient support space; its scope is much wider than Culinary Care's nutrition-focused niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/culinary-care

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 culinary care