A Soup-er Celebration

The Organic Soup Kitchen, which has served more than three million bowls to needy residents in Santa Barbara County, celebrated its 15th anniversary with a bountiful bash for 250 guests at the Cabrillo Pavilion.

Founder and executive director Anthony Carroccio declared: “When we served our first bowl in the park in 2009, we were visionaries with a belief that everyone deserved access to prime nutrition. Today, we continue that vision.”

The popular organization provides lifesaving nutrition and food security to more than 40,000 recipients annually, which is distributed through a network of more than 100 volunteers and community partners with county-wide home delivery, covering 5,000 plus miles annually.

The Organic Soup Kitchen is the leading nutrition referral source for medical and local social service professionals, and the first provider of medically tailored meals to local CenCal Health members.

When I joined the Santa Barbara News-Press as a columnist in 2007 I well remember attending one of the first OSK events at the Veterans Building on Cabrillo Boulevard to write about the organization.

OSK’s soup is also sold at full price to those who can afford it, to expand the network for those who can’t.

In 2013 they launched the Cancer Recovery Program as a division of the organization.

Last year Carroccio was diagnosed with Stage 4 prostate cancer and credits his nourishing diet, including the soups, with helping him recover. He is now cancer-free.

Among the supporters sipping the three varieties of soup and noshing on the hearty Italian fare were Marna Coday, Brendon Twigden, Hiroko Benko, Peter and Kathryn Martin, Linda Rosso, Maria McCall, and Oscar Gutierrez.