Bracken's Kitchen

We’re inspired by @sagehill students Ingrid and Eleni. These two set out to make a difference in the midst of this pandemic and launched various charitable efforts, including a raising funds to purchase masks for hospitals in need of supplies and a food drive benefitting @brackenskitchen! The story can be found in the @DailyPilot. Thank you, Ingrid and Eleni.

On this beautiful spring morning, we’re grateful to provide Savory Bean Soup at the Alma Backyard Farms G R O C E R Y K I T giveaway. Kits are filled with fresh produce, pantry staples, locally made bread, prepared foods and drinking water for those in need. We provided meals along with food from: Rossoblu... Tossitup Salad Bar Hank and Bean Yetunde Price Resource Center Cast Your Bread Los Angeles Cast YourBread Donat Eppe @artistsrevolt Food Forward See more

We are very grateful to all our supporters for enabling our work to continue to feed those in need. Edinger Medical Group has been one of our longtime supporters and they’ve been caring for Orange County patients for over 50 years with offices in Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach. Personalized patient care is what sets Edinger Medical Group apart. Their physicians and clinical staff oversee all specialist and hospitalist care to ensure a comprehensive health care experience. Expect to receive world-class care from a staff that is truly invested in you.

FOOD FACT FRIDAY is dedicated to Cabbage. Maybe you enjoyed corn beef and cabbage at St. Patrick’s Day, or even love to eat sauerkraut, coleslaw, or kimchee anytime. Now, you want to know some facts and benefits of cabbage: * While it may look a lot like lettuce, it actually belongs to the Brassica genus of vegetables, which includes broccoli, cauliflower and kale * It’s been growing around the world for thousands of years. ... * Cabbage is loaded with vitamins and minerals. * Cabbage contains powerful antioxidants that may help reduce inflammation. * Cabbage contains insoluble fiber, which keeps the digestive system healthy. * It contains powerful pigments called anthocyanins, which have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease. What are your favorite ways to enjoy cabbage?

On this Thankful Thursday, we’re grateful for the bread drop from Cast Your Bread OC! What is Cast Your Bread? It initially started in LA and now there are multiple chapters in cities such as Baltimore, San Diego, etc. CastYourBread basically organizes local home and professional bread bakers to donate bread to a chosen feeding establishments and other non-profit groups such as Bracken’s Kitchen. The goal is to give support to people in our community who are having a difficul...t time putting food on their table, such as during the pandemic. With the generous bakers’ donations, we’re able to provide delicious bread for those we serve.

Wishing you a Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! May your troubles be less. And your blessings be more. And nothing but happiness come through your door."

Today was a special day thanks to our partnership with Pokéworks South OC. They served 360 meals for seniors who are in need in our community due to COVID. We’re grateful for all of their hard work and helping us to distribute our meals.

We’re so grateful and honored for the support from Edinger Medical Group. Caring for patients for nearly 60 years, Edinger Medical Group with local offices in Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley, is consistently recognized for its outstanding patient care and patient satisfaction in the community and statewide. Edinger Medical Group is also supporting us to provide nutritious meals to locals in need.

#FBF to the good ol’ days when The Fischer Group volunteered and helped put a dent in our mission to serve 600,000 meals in 2019! We’ve surpassed our 2019 goal by over a million this year already. We look forward to the day that we can welcome volunteers safely

We’re so grateful for our friends at Milk Box who create The Boba Box DIY Boba Kits available - at milkboxbar.com. They release in small quantities so check back often for the next batch. Each Boba Box helps us feed those in need. $5 from each Boba Box will go to help with necessary food items to complete 20 meals. So far, they’ve put together a total of 19,560 nutritious meals for those in need! ... Not only that, Milk Box Bar is spreading HOPE. They create jobs to help pack these boxes and fulfill all orders. They’re helping small mom and pop businesses keep their doors open. They source everything inside a Boba Box from local business owners. And, they’re offering $5 per box sold to brand partners to help them earn extra cash during this tough.

Thank you to all the brave men and women that have served and continue to serve our country.

What to do with a donation of 500 lbs. of pork shoulder from Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County? We’re busy making hearty pork stew with vegetables that will become 2,000 meals. We’re preventing food waste while providing high quality meals to those in need.

Today we’re inspired by our founder Bill Bracken who was just recognized by the OC Business Journal’s Making A Difference 2020 issue. Former executive chef with 35 years experience in notable places such as the Peninsula Beverly Hills and The Four Seasons Hotel Newport Beach, Bill Bracken founded Bracken’s Kitchen in 2013 with a determination and lofty goal of feeding those in need with repurposed and recovered food, offering a community feeding program with a food truck, and offering culinary training for those in need of a job. Now, he’s overseeing a team that’s preparing and serving 30,000 meals a week for non profit agency partners who distribute high quality meals to those suffering from hunger.

Our Bracken’s Kitchen team is busy cooking and preparing meals every day. To meet the need since the pandemic started, we’re already at 1.4 million meals provided and counting. And we’ve grown from serving 23 to 67 agency partners who receive food from us on a weekly basis. We couldn’t do it all without your love and support.

On this Monday, we’re inspired by the work of our partner Illumination Foundation and City of Santa Ana are doing to disrupt the cycle of homelessness. They are working together to open a new shelter early 2021. The 200 bed navigation and recuperative care center will serve Santa Ana’s most vulnerable population. The city has the largest population of homeless in Orange County, estimated at more than 1,700 people.

We’re so appreciative to be a part of the food distribution event today at @almabackyardfarms. They distributed grocery kits today filled with high-quality ingredients from Yetunde Price Resource Center, Cast Your Bread Los Angeles, Hank and Bean LA, FoodForward, Fine Ugly Soap, Rossoblu, Pressedjuicery.co, and of course prepared meals from Bracken’s Kitchen.

FUN FACT about our valued partner, Chefs’ Toys who helps provide us with important cooking equipment to help us feed those in need. They just opened an OUTLET in Brea! It’s a pop-up store selling clearance and overstock kitchen and restaurant equipment from Chefs Toys. Stop by and snag some deals! ... Open 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Mon. - Sat.; Closed Sun. 835 E. Birch St. in Brea. (located next to Target). 657-699-9443.

This #flashbackfriday takes us back to the fun day when we welcomed Levi Strauss out to help in the kitchen. We were also so thankful to receive a donation from Levi Strauss for our cause. We look forward to the day when we can welcome volunteer teams back into the kitchen.

On this #thankfulthursday we feel so fortunate to receive this donation of the freshest mixed greens from Erik Cutter at Alegria Farms and Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. Children, families, veterans and the elderly who receive our meals will be able to enjoy these nutrient rich organic greens grown locally in Irvine.

In one month, this space will be filled with special guests, community partners, and Bracken's own chefs cooking up a surprise along with pumpkin carvings as you've never seen before. Christmas tree decorating, silent auction items, opportunity drawings and a gourmet meal delivered to attendees’ doors are also in store for those who join Bracken's Kitchen DECK THE HALLS virtually in Garden Grove on Thursday, December 3, 2020, at 6 p.m. Get your tickets now at https://bit.ly/...31QHYag You won’t want to miss it! See more

Meet Sapphira Roberson, Community Programs Manager at Miracles For Kids that’s making miracles for critically-ill children and their families. Last week we announced DECK THE HALLS, our virtual holiday party that’s coming your way on Thursday, Dec. 3! It’s our only benefit event this year and 100% of the proceeds will be going to programs like feeding those served at the Miracle For Kids. We hope to see you there!

A longtime supporter of Bracken's Kitchen, Chef Rich Mead of Farmhouse at Rogers Gardens is pleased to present a "An Apple A Day" cocktail that will help support Bracken's Kitchen's mission to feed even more hungry people in Orange County. Starting today through Sunday, Nov. 8, 50% of the proceeds from this special fall-inspired cocktial will go to Bracken's Kitchen. The cocktail starts with a spiced apple cider made from Pink Lady Apples from Berry Hill Farms in Paso R...obles, Guava infused with Cynar, an Italian bitter liqueur, and Aquavit from Blinking Owl Distillery in Santa Ana. It's a refreshing fall cocktail that everyone will love! Each week, Chef Rich Mead is giving back to local charities that are focused on hunger and homelessness in and around Orange County with his "Swig for Selflessness" cocktail program. Open 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. 2301 San Joaquin Hills Rd, Corona Del Mar.

It brings us so much joy to see smiles on the faces from those we serve meals to and grocery kits with the help of Vesta Foodservice. We’re honored to help the community with Frank A. Waldrop and partner with the American Veterans Assistance Group AVAG.

Please join us in wishing our volunteer sous chef George, a Happy Anniversary! He’s been with us for FOUR years this week! We’re so appreciative of all that he does for us and the people we serve.

Today’s #fbf is brought to you by our first ever DECK THE HALLS in December 2018. We can’t wait for our first virtual Deck The Halls on Dec. 3. It’s just about five weeks away! It’s gonna be full of food, drink, music, prizes, and new connections...all for a great cause! Get your tix at https://www.brackenskitchen.com/deck-the-halls

We are honored that our very own director of operations Caterina Richards was just nominated and asked to take part in the @Orange County Business Journal celebration of the 2020 Women in Business Awards! It’s an honor that Caterina’s efforts at Bracken’s Kitchen will be recognized by colleagues. OC Business Journal’s Women in Business Awards recognizes the top businesswomen of Orange County!