A local nonprofit is expanding its medically tailored meal program to Lompoc, aiming to help residents living with chronic illnesses access nutritious food.
Organic Soup Kitchen, a Santa Barbara-based nonprofit, is partnering with Lompoc Valley Medical Center to bring medically tailored meals to eligible Lompoc residents.
The partnership comes after Meals on Wheels services ended in Lompoc in 2025, leaving some residents without access to prepared meals.
Lindsey Arevalo, senior director of operations at Lompoc Valley Medical Center, said the previous program served a significant number of residents.
“When we were doing Meals on Wheels, we served an average of about 1,600 meals a month to just clients within the Lompoc community,” Arevalo said.
Now, the medical center is partnering with Organic Soup Kitchen to help fill that gap.
The program provides meals designed for people living with chronic conditions, including diabetes, obesity and other metabolic diseases.
Arevalo said the partnership has already generated interest from local patients.
“They’ve received inquiries from about 50 patients from the community prior to coming here,” Arevalo said. “We are hoping to grow that as well to get more patients on board.”
Aaron Poirier, Chief Operating Officer, LVMC, also said the program could potentially serve a larger population of Medi-Cal recipients in Lompoc who meet the eligibility requirements.
The partnership also aims to address needs identified in the community’s 2025 community needs assessment.
“Healthy lifestyle was one of those areas,” Poirier said. “Lack of time and money for people to really prioritize healthy health, so we are kind of tackling through this new partnership.”
Unlike some traditional meal programs, Organic Soup Kitchen flash-freezes its meals to help preserve freshness and nutrients, according to Andrea Slaby, the organization’s chief operating officer.
“Clinical trials and tests nationally show that anyone that receives medically tailored meals over a set period of time have less doctor visits, less E.R. visits, you know, less health issues because they’re eating whole, complex ingredients,” Slaby said.
For now, meals will be delivered weekly through DoorDash directly to patients’ homes. Eligible participants can receive up to 14 meals.
To qualify, patients must have a chronic illness and be enrolled in Medi-Cal.
Arevalo said the organizations are also working toward bringing a mobile location to Lompoc in the coming months, where residents could select and pick up their meals in person.
Deliveries are scheduled to begin Friday.
Residents interested in applying can visit Organic Soup Kitchen’s website and select “I Need Soup.” Applications can take about one week to review.
