My Nonprofit Reviews

About twenty years ago, we were invited to Thanksgiving dinner at Anthony Carraccio's home. We didn't know him, but he made us very welcome, with tons of food that he had cooked. It was a gathering of various people who didn't have a place to go on this family oriented holiday. Our friendship grew over the years, and Anthony began making delicious organic soup for homeless or just people in need. Soon after he founded a non-profit to feed more and more people. That is his labor of love, to feed people. And not just any food, but the highest quality, organic vegetables. In his own words, "everybody deserves to have good food." Soon we were all participating in the first Thanksgivings at the Veteran's Center in Santa Barbara, where hundreds of people were volunteering to help prepare and serve. There were Christmas meals, Easter meals and the crows grew year after year. The most amazing thing about it all–– more than the quality of the food, more than the stellar entertainment at these community meals, more than the gifts and vital necessities given–– was the true communal meal itself. At times it brought me to tears to see the volunteers (who treated the "guests" like real guests) sit down and eat their own meal, right along side a minority family, or aging Veteran or homeless, handicapped person. Everyone is waited on, catered to, "served" in the true sense of the word. Elected officials from local, state and national level were servers as well as guests. This is the true meaning of community! And the Organic Soup Kitchen is the only example of such unconditional love, that I have ever known.