This year’s Thanksgiving fundraiser brings together 11 San Diego-based culinary businesses, including a special first-time partner: The Muffin Mam, a Black-owned, woman-owned small business.
There’s something special cooking around the holidays. It’s that time of year when family and friends gather around the table, traditions are celebrated, and the simple joy of sharing a delicious meal reminds us of what matters most: love, connection, and community.
But for some San Diegans facing critical illnesses, having a nutritious meal on the table isn’t always guaranteed.
That’s where Mama’s Kitchen comes in, bringing nourishment, compassion, and a little extra holiday sweetness to those who need it most.
For more than 35 years, Mama’s Kitchen has been making a meaningful difference in the lives of San Diego County residents. Under the leadership of CEO Eva Matthews, who has been with the organization for just over three years, the nonprofit continues its longstanding commitment to ensuring that individuals living with critical illnesses have access to nutritious, medically tailored meals delivered right to their homes.
Founded in 1990, Mama’s Kitchen has delivered more than 14 million meals to clients and their children throughout San Diego County. It was also the first organization on the West Coast to earn Food Is Medicine Coalition Accreditation and remains San Diego County’s only provider of free, home-delivered medically tailored meals for individuals living with cancer, HIV, chronic kidney disease, congestive heart failure, and type 2 diabetes.
And while its mission is serious, the way Mama’s Kitchen brings the community together is most definitely worth celebrating.
Enter Mama’s Pies! A Holiday Tradition That Gives Back
Now in its 22nd year, Mama’s Pies has become a beloved San Diego holiday tradition, bringing together local bakers, restaurants, caterers, and culinary businesses for one delicious purpose: fighting hunger and providing nourishment to neighbors facing critical illnesses.
This year’s Thanksgiving fundraiser brings together 11 San Diego-based culinary businesses, including a special first-time partner: The Muffin Mam, a Black-owned, woman-owned small business. We love that name!
And here’s the sweetest part: Every pie purchased helps provide 10 medically tailored meals to a local resident living with a critical illness.
That’s right! Your holiday dessert can help put nutritious meals on someone else’s table.
Meet Two of the Women Behind This Year’s Mama’s Pies Partnership: Eva Matthews and Tamanava (Tami) Eden
During our conversation with Mama’s Kitchen C.E.O. Eva Matthews and, owner of Muffin Mam, Tamanava Eden, who prefers to be called Tami, we learned that this partnership is about much more than baking pies. It’s about understanding the importance of community and the power of coming together to make a difference.
For Tami Eden, baking and cooking are more than a business; they’re part of her family story.
A San Diego native and former educator, Tami shared that her love for baking and cooking was nurtured through family traditions. She’s also an entrepreneur with a creative side that extends beyond the kitchen. Through Broomsticks Designs, Tami offers a variety of handmade creations, including brooms, candles, wax melts, wreaths, tumbled stone pendants, and custom art pieces.
But it’s her love for community and her desire to use her talents to give back that make her partnership with Mama’s Kitchen especially meaningful.
As a first-time participant in Mama’s Pies, The Muffin Mam is bringing its own special flavor to a fundraiser that has been making a difference in San Diego for more than two decades.
The Muffin Mam is a cottage kitchen and home micro-bakery serving customers throughout California. Its participation is also a wonderful reminder of the impact small, locally owned businesses can make when they use their talents to support something greater than themselves.
It’s community over competition, collaboration over division, and a whole lot of goodness baked into one beautiful partnership!
What’s Baking This Thanksgiving?
Whether you’re a pumpkin pie enthusiast, a pecan pie lover, or someone who believes apple pie belongs at every Thanksgiving table, Mama’s Pies has something for you.
This year’s selections include:
- Pumpkin
- Pecan
- Apple
- Dutch Apple
- Mystery Flavor
When asked about their personal favorites, both ladies gave a little love to Dutch apple pie. Eva also shared that the mystery flavor has a special place among her favorites.
Now, that mystery pie has our attention! There’s nothing wrong with a little holiday surprise.
Every Pie Makes a Difference
While the pies are certainly something to look forward to, the real sweetness of this tradition is measured in the lives it touches.
In 2025, Mama’s Pies raised more than $190,000 and helped provide more than 50,000 medically tailored meals to homebound individuals throughout San Diego County.But as Eva Matthews explained, fundraising this year comes with its own set of challenges. With the rising cost of living and continued economic uncertainty, more San Diego residents are finding themselves struggling to meet basic needs, including putting food on the table.
Matthews emphasized that Mama’s Kitchen’s no-cost, medically tailored meal deliveries are more important than ever, particularly for community members living with critical illnesses at a time when funding remains uncertain.
And that’s why community support matters. Every pie purchased, every donation made, every participating business, and every volunteer who gives their time helps Mama’s Kitchen continue providing something essential: nourishment, dignity, and hope.
How to Purchase Your Mama’s Pie – On Sale Now!
Here’s how you can get your holiday pie while supporting a wonderful cause!
- Pie price: $35 each
- Ordering period: Monday, October 12, through Friday, November 20
- Ordering website: mamaspies.org
- Pickup date: Wednesday, November 25
- Pickup locations: 10 locations throughout San Diego County, from Chula Vista to Carlsbad
Pies will be freshly baked during Thanksgiving week and available for pickup at designated locations throughout the county.
For pickup details, visit the Mama’s Pies site locator.
Show Some Love to The Muffin Mam!
Be sure to follow and support this Black-owned, woman-owned small business:
- Instagram: @themuffinmamsd
- Facebook: The Muffin Mam
More Than a Meal. More Than a Pie. It’s Community.
For more than three decades, Mama’s Kitchen has demonstrated that food is more than something we eat. It is nourishment, comfort, care, and sometimes, a lifeline.
Through Mama’s Pies, the organization reminds us that making a difference doesn’t always require grand gestures. Sometimes, it starts with purchasing a pie, supporting a local business, or sharing a little kindness with someone who needs it.
As we prepare to gather around our Thanksgiving tables, let’s remember our neighbors who may be facing challenges we cannot see.
This holiday season, let’s make room for one more act of kindness.
Because when San Diego comes together, something wonderful happens.
One pie. Ten meals. Countless reasons to be grateful.
To learn more about Mama’s Kitchen, its programs, volunteer opportunities, or ways to donate, visit www.mamaskitchen.org.