How Karen Nochimowski of Momma Chef’s Soup Kitchen and Little Free Pantry Movement Is Helping To Address The Growing Challenge Of Food Insecurity
An Interview With Martita Mestey
Trust your inner wisdom. I mean, if your 3 A.M. voice tells you to order a pizza every night, maybe not. However, I think we all have really important ideas that sometimes come out when we least expect them.
In many parts of the United States, there is a crisis of people having limited reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. As prices rise, this problem will likely become more acute. How can this problem be solved? Who are the leaders helping to address this crisis?
In this interview series, we are talking to leaders who are helping to address the increasing problem of food insecurity who can share the initiatives they are leading to address and solve this problem.
As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Karen Nochimowski.
Karen Nochimowski is the founder and director of Momma Chef’s Soup Kitchen as well as the innovator of Momma Chef’s Little Free Pantries, which offer 24/7 food availability to those facing food insecurity in Chicago neighborhoods. She’s popularly known on the internet as mommachef.com, and her first cookbook 6-Minute Dinners (and More!) was just released, filled with over 100 simple and delicious recipes with six ingredients or fewer to help busy families get dinner on the table with ease; plus, a portion of the proceeds from the cookbook goes directly to fund her food-insecurity projects. To date, the soup kitchen and pantries have provided over 25,000 homemade meals and over 15,000 pounds of non-perishable food. Karen’s work and recipes have been featured on Live with Kelly and Ryan, WGN, FOX, NBC, CBS and ABC as well as in dozens of publications.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
In June of 2018, my life was full, and I was happy. My cooking blog, MommaChef.com, was blowing up. I was busy writing articles for dozens of magazines and working with multiple companies to develop recipes for their products. My family — my husband, three boys, and sweetest dog — kept my days exciting. It was like a dream come true … yet I did not feel complete. Something was off, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
Amidst my endeavors and engagements, my brain must have been secretly percolating to find an answer. My “a-ha” moment arrived at 3 A.M. one day: I woke up with a big idea. I had found my missing ingredient: my table wasn’t big enough! Yes, my dining room table could seat twelve friends and family , and my blogging “table” had thousands of cyber-seats. My early morning vision? Extend the table to feed people facing food insecurity by opening a soup kitchen. In my mind’s eye, I could see a safe, clean, and uplifting environment where we could serve meals to under-resourced families.
Once the idea came to me, I was determined to make it happen.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
One morning I popped onto my email, and — lo and behold — there was an invitation to be featured on the Live with Kelly and Ryan Show. At first, I thought it was spam — or maybe a joke that one of my sons was playing on me. However, it was absolutely true! The show was celebrating Random Acts of Kindness Day, and I was honored to be chosen to talk about the work I was doing in the Chicagoland area. I should have made a video of my family and I scurrying around working to make our kitchen look camera-ready! It was kind of funny, actually, because during the first part of the interview, Kelly and Ryan obsessed over my spotless kitchen island. I was pretty nervous to speak on live TV, but everyone was so amazing that it ended up being easy to talk about the work that I felt so passionate about. The show also completed its own random act of kindness and surprised me with a $5,000 donation to the soup kitchen and pantries!
Are you able to identify a “tipping point” in your career when you started to see success? Did you start doing anything different? Are there takeaways or lessons that others can learn from that?
Well, let’s see, for my career at MommaChef.com, I guess it’s when my blog started blowing up, and I started to get heartfelt emails from people across the country whose lives I was impacting. The goal of my blog was to help busy people like me serve fabulous meals with little effort and few ingredients. With three rambunctious little boys, I knew firsthand that it could be overwhelming. It’s easy to raise the white flag and rely on boxed meals and fast-food. All of my recipes feature my “6 under 6” promise: delicious dishes with no more than six ingredients and prepped in under six minutes. The blog really struck a chord with people who were on the go but who longed for the ritual and comfort of home-cooked meals. In terms of the soup kitchen, once we consistently started filling the dining hall with guests, I knew we were meeting an important need.
I think the lesson that people can learn from my experience is to follow your passion. My career path is just an extension of who I am. I love to cook, and I love to host gatherings of people. By keeping my eyes open to find opportunities to use my passion to help others, I’ve been humbled to be able to make a difference.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person to whom you are grateful who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
Yes, of course! It’s my mom, for sure. My mom raised me with a sense of empathy and a sense of knowing how lucky we were. Her lessons extended outside of the walls of our home, too. She was a role model of someone who always looked to make the world a bit better. She instilled in me that one of my most important tasks as a parent is to pass on that lesson of empathy to my own kids. I want them to always look for ways to give back.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Oooh. Good question. Let me think. Okay, first, as I said earlier, empathy. Don’t be afraid to open your eyes and let your heart break at some of the struggles people are facing. I think that sometimes we are so busy dealing with our own issues or staring at our screens that we forget to look up and look outwards. A second trait would have to be drive. Once I have an idea, I’m like my dog with her favorite toy — I’ve latched on and I’m not going to give it up. It’s hard for me to take no for an answer, and I won’t stop until I have fulfilled my mission. Finally, I think I’d say courage. You have to be brave to put your ideas out there, and you have to be brave to put them into action. And sometimes bravery is just breaking out of your routine and going the extra mile. Here’s a small moment that captures empathy, bravery, and drive in action: One winter day, I was driving down Devon Avenue in Chicago when I saw a man who appeared to be homeless. I pulled over and struck up a conversation with him and shared information about our soup kitchen. When he walked in that evening, my heart filled. And since that first night, he has been coming ever since.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
Absolutely. A quote that keeps me focused is “No one has ever become poor by giving.” Not only are those words to live by, the words were written by Anne Frank. I mean, here’s a girl who is living in unspeakable circumstances who can still find the truth and beauty of giving. It’s inspiring on so many levels. I read that quote years ago, and I realized that this is my mission- not just for me, that my kids have to understand this as well.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. Can you describe to our readers how your work is helping to address the challenge of food insecurity?
Living in the Chicago area, the disparity among family incomes can vary tremendously within a 20-mile radius. Knowing that people living so close to me had little to no access to meals broke my heart. In October of 2018, Momma Chef’s Soup Kitchen opened its doors at Congregation KINS in West Rogers Park.
Once a week, we provide a 5-course homemade, hot meal to anyone who comes to our doors; we also deliver 70 meals to two shelters in Chicago. My June 2018 middle-of-the-night 3 A.M. epiphany has now provided over 20,000 meals and counting since we first opened our doors.
A couple of years later, I was inspired to start another initiative, the “Momma Chef Little Free Pantry Movement.” On a contemplative walk during the shutdown of 2020, I happened upon a “Little Free Library” — you’ve probably seen them in a neighborhood, park, or parking lot. You know -those cute homemade wooden boxes, housing free books for anyone to take home? Anyway, it struck me how I could use that same delivery system to address food insecurity around Chicago. That day, with the help of my oldest son, we pledged that we would work to provide 24-hour access to non-perishable food for anyone in need.
The pandemic outbreak and subsequent shutdown made this idea more difficult to complete, yet more urgent than ever. In May of 2021, the first pantry opened outside of West Ridge Community Methodist Church in Chicago. We keep the pantry stocked daily with healthy non-perishable food. It’s a wonderful way for people in need to take food anonymously at any time of the day. We have installed three more pantries around Chicago in front of churches and synagogues in areas of significant need.
Can you share something about your work that makes you most proud? Is there a particular story or incident that you found most uplifting?
Okay, sure. It’s easy to be proud of my kids. Like I said before, the most important work in my life is to pass on empathy to my sons. One example that comes to mind is when my son was about nine, and he had been saving and saving to purchase “the coolest video game.” He would do odd jobs around the house to earn some money here and there, and he would squirrel it away with his eye on the prize. We were on vacation, and we passed an elderly homeless woman on the street. My son stopped and asked us to give her all of the money that he had set aside for the game that meant so much to him. When I saw the sincerity in his eyes, I thought, “Yes, Karen. He is getting it — No one has ever become poor by giving.”
In your opinion, what should other business and civic leaders do to further address these problems? Can you please share a few things that can be done to further address the problem of food insecurity?
Write the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson in government buildings and in company board rooms: The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well. Business leaders can and should make volunteering a priority in companies. Civic leaders can provide incentives for businesses who make volunteering a priority. At our soup kitchen, we work with a company who sends an employee weekly to pick up meals and deliver to two shelters in Chicago. How great is that? I wish more companies followed their lead. When business leaders make service to the local community a part of the philosophy of their company, everyone’s a winner.
If you had the power to influence legislation, are there laws that you would like to see introduced that might help you in your work?
I feel very strongly about food waste. At the micro-level, I am hyper aware about using up what’s in my refrigerator before I buy something else. I am disappointed in myself when I have to toss produce that’s gone bad in my fridge. It definitely involves a little planning and some flexibility, but it also has inspired some interesting dinner combinations. On the macrolevel, though, food waste is overwhelming. Listen to this disturbing statistic from the research of “Feeding America”: 119 billion pounds of food is wasted in the United States. That equates to 130 billion meals and more than $408 billion in food thrown away each year. Shockingly, nearly 40% of all food in America is wasted.
The USDA is working on their goal to cut food waste in half by 2030. Right now, there are Good Samaritan laws in every state that protect food donations. I would like to see policymakers in Illinois lead the way. Policy makers can provide tax incentives to restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores, farms, and production centers. Pairing these organizations with specific shelters and pantries could create partnerships of responsibility and accountability. I’m also an advocate of the USDA working to regulate food labeling to make it clear when food is actually unsafe to eat. Right now, the system is confusing for consumers. What does “Best By” or “Use By” really mean? There are no consistent labeling regulations put out at the state or the federal level. That’s sort of crazy, right?
Anyway, I strongly encourage people to read about the laws in their state. Right now, Illinois receives low marks in nearly every category of preventative food waste legislation. Two great resources that I use to find out what lawmakers are doing and what they should be doing — and how I can get involved — are “Feeding America” and ReFED.
I personally put this into action by making sure that my local grocery stores know to call me before they throw any food away. I pick-up on average around 100 pounds+ of food each week and use it at my soup kitchen. Over the years, I have probably recycled over 10,000 pounds of food that would have gone to waste.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
1. Listen to that 3 A.M. voice.
Trust your inner wisdom. I mean, if your 3 A.M. voice tells you to order a pizza every night, maybe not. However, I think we all have really important ideas that sometimes come out when we least expect them.
2. Keep your eyes open.
Have an awareness of the needs around you and the small ways you can help. I don’t wake up every morning with a mammoth plan to change the world, but I do try and find small ways to make it better. For instance, my family now keeps Ziploc bags filled with essentials like non-perishable food, toiletries, and gloves (for the Chicago winters that can last through April!). We have them on hand to pass out to anyone we see in need.
3. Find your tribe.
When you start on a new venture, don’t think you can do it all yourself. Figure out where you need help, and surround yourself with a team of people who can help you in both practical ways and in encouraging ways. Some days you just need someone to say, “Hey, Karen. I’m proud of you.”
4. It’s true: One person can make a difference.
I am still in awe when I think that I am the one person who woke up with an idea and then made it happen. Momma Chef’s Soup Kitchen and Little Free Pantry Movement have provided so many meals to those facing food-insecurity. What if I had ignored that voice? Believe in yourself.
5. Give yourself grace.
I have this horrible sense of guilt when I am not able to fit everything in. I think that I have to be able to juggle my cooking blog, write a cookbook, run a soup kitchen, fill the pantries, and raise my three boys without dropping the ball on things. And I do drop the ball and it’s a horrible feeling. I wish someone would have told me that it’s okay — it’s okay not to do everything.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I have found that my Little Free Pantry Movement is the best and easiest way to provide food to those in need. I would love to see more of these pantries around the United States. The Little Library Movement inspired schools, scout troops, and individual families to make a difference in literacy. How awesome would it be if people started to address hunger in their neighborhoods in the same way? You can leave canned goods or take canned goods whenever you need them. I think the “give-and-take” element can build and strengthen a community. And it’s a great way to get teenagers involved, my oldest son delivers around 500 pounds of food weekly to these pantries. You know, everyone goes through rough patches and something as simple as not worrying about what to feed your kids for lunch can help get you through the day.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
Super easy — Jennifer Garner. She’s a total inspiration: donating her time and resources to help those in need, posting videos to her fans with practical ways to help — — like “giving back using a Ziploc bag,” which, by the way, is one of my favorite ways to help people who are homeless. Jennifer balances life as a parent, runs her own company, and uses her platform to show her fans how important it is to give back. I would love to grab a coffee with her and learn from her experiences and maybe even have her try some of the recipes in my cookbook!
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can find all of the information on my recipes, soup kitchen, and my little free pantry movement by going to my blog: www.mommachef.com To order the cookbook with part of the proceeds going back to my soup kitchen and Little Free Pantries, click here: Buy 6-Minute Dinners (and More!)
This was very meaningful, thank you so much, and we wish you only continued success.
How Karen Nochimowski of Momma Chef’s Soup Kitchen and Little Free Pantry Movement Is Helping To… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.