Teen Kitchen Project

Teen Kitchen Project The Teen Kitchen Project brings young people into the kitchen to learn to cook delicious and nourishing food.

The meals we prepare are delivered free of charge to individuals and families who are in crisis due to a life-threatening illness. Teen Kitchen Project's mission is to build healthy community through food. Our primary program is our Meals Program, where professional chefs work in commercial kitchens teaching youth between 13-18 years of age how to prepare medically tailored meals. These meals are

delivered to people suffering from critical and chronic illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, or recent surgery. Adult volunteer Delivery Angels deliver the meals throughout Santa Cruz County. Each delivery made to a client provides 7 meals per delivery, allowing the client to have food on hand for a few days. Our other programs, (not currently in session due to the pandemic) are our catering program, which provides job and job training for youth in the form of a catering business; our summer camps and after school classes for kids ages 7-12; and our adult cooking classes. Since the start of the pandemic, we have reduced the number of volunteers in the Meals Program kitchen to allow for social distancing and are no longer open to drop in volunteers and have a fixed group of teens working in our kitchen. We have closed our Watsonville and Santa Cruz kitchens and are working solely out of our Soquel location. The need for meal delivery to the community's most vulnerable has increased dramatically due to the pandemic and Teen Kitchen Project has met that demand. During the first half of 2020 we delivered over 30,000 meals and expect to deliver another 30,000 by years end, a 45% increase from 2019! Pre-pandemic we were lucky enough to have build a strong revenue stream that allowed us to not have to rely on donations from the general public as much. Now that we are unable to provide our programs and services due to social distancing guidelines, we are in need of donations now more than ever. Please consider a gift of any amount to keep our program serving those who need meal support and ensure this valuable program is available for youth in the future!

For a limited time, every gift to our New Kitchen Campaign will be matched up to $100,000, helping us build the future o...
05/31/2026

For a limited time, every gift to our New Kitchen Campaign will be matched up to $100,000, helping us build the future of Teen Kitchen Project. This new kitchen will allow us to double our meal production, nearly double the number of clients we can serve, and triple the number of teens we can engage through hands-on culinary training and community service. Give today and help us create twice the impact for our community—one matched donation at a time. To learn more, go to teenkitchenproject.org/kitchen-campaign/donate-to-our-campaign/

05/25/2026

A heartfelt thank you to Brad and Linda of Home Restaurant in Soquel for generously hosting our Spring Fundraiser and creating such a warm and memorable evening for our community. It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the supporters who make Teen Kitchen Project’s work possible, all while enjoying incredible food, conversation, and the beautiful atmosphere you created for us.

The food was amazing, the company was amazing, and we are so grateful to everyone who took time out of their Wednesday evening to join us, support our mission, and help make the night so special. Your generosity and presence mean the world to us. Thank you!

05/24/2026

A heartfelt thank you to Brad and Linda of Home Restaurant in Soquel for generously hosting our Spring Fundraiser, An Evening in the Garden, and creating such a warm and memorable evening for our community. It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the supporters who make Teen Kitchen Project’s work possible. The food was amazing, the company was amazing, and we are so grateful to everyone who took time out of their Wednesday evening to join us, support our mission, and help make the night so special. Your generosity and presence mean the world to us. Thank you!

We have a $100,000 matching opportunity! Join us NOW and double your impact! https://teenkitchenproject.org/kitchen-camp...
05/23/2026

We have a $100,000 matching opportunity! Join us NOW and double your impact!

https://teenkitchenproject.org/kitchen-campaign/donate-to-our-campaign/

Supporters, staff and local dignitaries are given the honor of signing a header beam that will be installed in Teen Kitchen Project’s new Soquel facility during a Capital Campaign kickoff event Thursday.
Read more below

05/21/2026

This morning, we proudly marked the groundbreaking of Teen Kitchen Project’s new kitchen—a milestone that has been years in the making and a powerful reflection of what our community can accomplish together. This exciting new space will allow us to expand our impact, serve more clients, and create even more opportunities for teens to learn, grow, and give back through meaningful culinary service.

We are deeply grateful to everyone who has supported this vision and helped make this moment possible. A special thank you to Marcie Lovell, Superintendent Faris Sabbah, and Teen Chef Zachary for taking time out of their morning to help us celebrate and commemorate this important occasion with us!

If you would like to help support our New Kitchen Campaign, go to teenkitchenproject.org/kitchen-campaign/donate-to-our-campaign/. Thank you, Santa Cruz!

Help Teen Kitchen Project be part of New Leaf’s Envirotokens program in 2026! When you shop at New Leaf, you can help di...
05/20/2026

Help Teen Kitchen Project be part of New Leaf’s Envirotokens program in 2026! When you shop at New Leaf, you can help direct community funds to nonprofits making a real difference—like Teen Kitchen Project, which provides nourishing meals to neighbors facing serious illness.

To vote,
1. Go to www.newleaf.com/community/envirotokens-vote
2. Select your favorite New Leaf location (you can vote for more than one!)
3. Select Teen Kitchen Project as an Envirotoken candidate along with your other favorite nonprofits.
4. Submit your vote. You can submit a vote EVERY DAY!

Please share this post and tag a friend who shops at New Leaf! Every vote—and every share—helps us reach more supporters and serve more families. Thank you!

05/19/2026

TKP's spring benefit, An Evening in the Garden, is TOMORROW evening! Join us from 5-7:30pm in the beautiful outdoor garden dining area of Home Restaurant in Soquel. Chef Brad Briske and his team have created an incredibly diverse menu exclusively for us! We hope you can join us for a delicious dinner, a selection of wines, and great company with all event proceeds supporting Teen Kitchen Project's Teen Chef and Meals programs! To purchase tickets, go to resy.com/cities/san-jose-ca/venues/home/events/teen-kitchen-project-fundraiser-2026-05-20?seats=1&date=2026-04-09

Teen Kitchen Project has both grocery and produce box programs as well as prepared meals! All three programs are designe...
05/17/2026

Teen Kitchen Project has both grocery and produce box programs as well as prepared meals! All three programs are designed to support healthy eating habits for clients living with chronic and critical illness, ensuring they have consistent access to nourishing and delicious meals that promote reduced hospitalizations and better quality of life. If you would like to support TKP's meals and teen chef programs, consider making a gift to our spring drive. To donate, go to teenkitchenproject.org/donate/. Thank you for your support!

Don't miss your chance to join us for TKP's spring benefit, An Evening in the Garden, THIS Wednesday, May 20, from 5-7:3...
05/16/2026

Don't miss your chance to join us for TKP's spring benefit, An Evening in the Garden, THIS Wednesday, May 20, from 5-7:30pm. This event will be held in the outdoor garden dining area of Home Restaurant in Soquel and will feature the amazing talents of Chef Brad Briske and his team. We hope you can join us for a delicious multi-course dinner paired with a selection of wines, with all event proceeds supporting Teen Kitchen Project's Teen Chef and Meals programs! To purchase tickets, go to resy.com/cities/san-jose-ca/venues/home/events/teen-kitchen-project-fundraiser-2026-05-20?seats=1&date=2026-04-09

TKP was incredibly fortunate to have Landon Duffey as a volunteer chef and teacher in our spring break cooking camp this...
05/15/2026

TKP was incredibly fortunate to have Landon Duffey as a volunteer chef and teacher in our spring break cooking camp this year. Landon, along with his wife Alicia, have also been regular volunteers in our Teen Chef program. When asked about his experience with TKP, Landon recently said, "Alicia and I were inspired by TKP's values of expressing love for people through food and developing youth for future success. We don't have kids of our own, and are very thankful for the opportunity to impact young people in a field we are both so passionate about.

The work of Teen Kitchen project is incredibly important, as it gives young people a path to be a part of something meaningful, something bigger than themselves. Unlike traditional extracurricular activities such as sports, this program is open to all teens, focuses on teamwork and service, and contributes to a greater good, filling a critical need for real people in the community. Along the way, the students are able to gain valuable skills that are practical for future careers and life in general."

Thank you, Landon and Alicia, for your kindness, generosity, and dedication to helping TKP fulfill its mission!

Address

8063 Aptos Street
Aptos, CA
95003

Opening Hours

Monday 3pm - 7pm
Tuesday 3pm - 7pm
Wednesday 2pm - 6:30pm
Sunday 10am - 6pm

Telephone

+18313164540

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