Alberto Cortés announces that after 21 years of service, he will be retiring as the Chief Executive Officer of Mama’s Kitchen, after elevating the organization into a national model for medically tailored meal delivery and the Food is Medicine movement.
“Making the decision to retire from this impactful organization that I’ve helped develop alongside our amazing staff, generous donors, dedicated volunteers, committed board, and devoted community members required thought, consideration, and care. Mama’s Kitchen will continue to thrive and care for our community’s most vulnerable individuals,” Cortés said.
Mama’s Kitchen is a provider of home-delivered meals in the San Diego region.
“Of course, we are sad to see Alberto retire, but we are immensely grateful for the hard work, time, and passion with which he has served Mama’s Kitchen and the San Diego community for over two decades,” Mama’s Kitchen Board President, Caron Calabrese, Esq. said. “He has truly led this organization to new heights and made it a leading authority on solutions to nutrition insecurity and medically tailored meals in San Diego and beyond. Alberto has been the heart of Mama’s Kitchen and we’re excited to see him enter this new chapter. For someone who has made it his mission to care for others, we are happy for him to make time for himself.”
Cortés first joined Mama’s Kitchen’s board of directors in 1999. After several years of service in local public health initiatives, he was hired to lead the nonprofit organization as executive director on July 8, 2002. Under his leadership, Mama’s Kitchen has grown from a $1.7 million to a $5.5 million nonprofit agency, making it a leader in the sector.
During Cortes’ tenure, the organization has delivered 8.75 million meals. Today, Mama’s Kitchen is the sole provider of medically tailored meals, delivering more than 75,000 each month to critically ill individuals and children.
Cortés as a Visionary
In 2006, Cortés guided one of the most significant decisions of Mama’s Kitchen’s history to expand the organization’s HIV-focused mission to serve San Diegans with other critical illnesses. As the organization’s capacity increased over time, health conditions that can be improved with proper nutrition have been added, including cancer in 2006, type 2 diabetes and congestive heart failure in 2018, and most recently, chronic kidney disease in 2020.
Cortés hired Mama’s Kitchen’s first registered dietitian in 2013 and established the organization’s Nutrition Education Program to teach critically ill individuals how to manage their health through proper nutrition as a supplement to medically tailored meals.
He managed the launch of Mama’s Pantry in 2004, a service provided for over 16 years. He introduced the Emergency Food Assistance Program and a Medical Nutrition Therapy program in 2016.
In 2020, Cortés secured the first managed care plan contract, allowing services to reach an even greater number of vulnerable people through Medi-Cal’s CalAIM initiative. Mama’s Kitchen works with more than 350 healthcare providers throughout San Diego County to serve and educate San Diegans with critical illnesses and share its trusted belief that everyone is entitled to the basic necessity of life – nutritious food.
Mama’s Kitchen’s much-anticipated annual fundraisers of Mama’s Day and Mama’s Pies Thanksgiving Bake Sale have grown under Cortés’ stewardship to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations each year to support the organization’s nutrition programs.
Cortés has shepherded the transition of Mama’s Kitchens from working out of a church basement to its current, fully-owned facility on Home Avenue, where operations continue to grow. He has helped to lay the groundwork for the next generation of food as medicine for the San Diego community, and Mama’s Kitchen will continue down the path that has been so thoughtfully and tirelessly paved by Cortés.
National Recognition
In addition to the expansion of nutrition programs and services, Cortés also helped guide the organization’s shift to function under the paradigm of Food is Medicine. Over the past 10 years, Mama’s Kitchen progressed from simply the provision of food to providing complex medically tailored nutrition.
Cortés has collaborated with other nutrition delivery nonprofits across the country, positioning Mama’s Kitchen to become a founding member of the National Food is Medicine Coalition and California Food is Medicine Coalition.
During Cortés’ time with Mama’s Kitchen, he and the organization have received multiple awards of recognition, as well.
“My time with Mama’s Kitchen was only one chapter of a 36-year career in the nonprofit sector that started in response to the AIDS epidemic – an epidemic that impacted my life, while also providing a clear sense of purpose. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve San Diego. I look forward to witnessing Mama’s Kitchen’s continued growth, evolution, and success serving the ever-changing and challenging nutritional needs of our communities,” reflects Cortés.
Mama’s Kitchen has formed a search committee to identify and select Cortés’ successor. More information about ways to celebrate Cortés and his achievements will be forthcoming, including a campaign that will be enacted in his name to continue his legacy of caring for our community. Follow mamaskitchen.org for more details in the coming months.