Community invited to support AMOR Healing Kitchen’s Silent Auction and Merry Mingle event on Dec. 7
by Lorne Chambers | Editor
With Thanksgiving in the rearview and a new year just ahead, AMOR Healing Kitchen in West Ashley is inviting the entire Charleston community to make a difference while celebrating the season. The beloved local nonprofit, which provides nourishing, plant-based meals to individuals facing critical health challenges like cancer, is launching not one but two year-end fundraisers: an online silent auction, which officially began on Nov. 29, and its annual Merry Mingle Holiday Party on Saturday, Dec. 7. Proceeds will directly support AMOR’s mission to deliver healthy meals to those in need.
In 2024, demand for AMOR services increased dramatically, with 90 percent of clients receiving meals free of charge. This, coupled with rising food costs, has made AMOR’s mission even more important and increased the impact of financial contributions.
“We serve approximately 100 clients a week, which is double what we did in 2023,” says Maria Kelly, AMOR’s founder and executive director. “2024 has been one of our busiest and most successful years in operation since we were founded in 2018. We grew in so many ways.”
Each week, AMOR’s culinary director, Terri Henning, sets the menu and then works with teen volunteers to prepare the meals for the patient and their caregiver, using fresh local ingredients, some of which are donated by local farms. Then adult volunteers (a.k.a. Delivery Angels) come to the kitchen each Friday to pick up and deliver the meals and a fresh bouquet of flowers, which are also donated or recycled from local companies. Clients receive four complete meals, one healthy snack, one healthy dessert, a printed menu with reheating instructions, and a small bouquet of fresh flowers. To date, AMOR has delivered nearly 75,000 meals since it was founded in 2018. It has 55 teen volunteers from 12 schools and approximately 90 adult volunteers.
Not only did AMOR double the amount of clients this year, it also expanded it’s board of directors, which is an active team that not only provides guidance to the organization but also assists in many operational aspects, according to Kelly.
“We also expanded our Grab and Grow business. Grab and Grow is our food-to-go business that makes our food available to the public and also helps fuel our mission of providing our meals free of cost to those in need,” she says. “It is a weekly service that offers a few take-and-bake meal options, a hearty soup or salad and healthy snacks – all made with seasonal, locally sourced ingredients.”
In 2024, AMOR scored another big win by becoming one of six non-profits in the area who were supported and funded by Empower Charleston, part of the Coastal Community Foundation that connects and invests in people and local nonprofit organizations to co-create a sustainable and equitable community.
“We believe this will help bring a lot of momentum to the organization,” says Kelly, who is hoping to increase AMOR’s impact in the community in 2025. “There are so many people who are in need of our services that we are currently not reaching. Through establishing our sustainable growth model through our Grab & Grow business and also with solid community partnerships, we believe we’ll be able to double again the number of people we are serving. We believe anyone who is in need of nourishing, fresh, and healthy food, should have access to it, especially during a challenging health crisis.”
Another way that AMOR continues to build partnerships and reach the greater Charleston community is through its community cooking classes. For example, last month, AMOR teamed up with Slow Food Charleston to head a workshop that celebrated local, heirloom produce, which is something that aligns with both organization’s missions.
A dozen attendees learned how to make a hearty, plant-based Panzanella Salad featuring “Ark of Taste” ingredients: Candy Roaster Squash, a variety cultivated by the Cherokees in the southern Appalachian Mountains in the 1800s; Marsh Hen Mill Sea Island Red Peas, a heritage variety of cow peas that is central to Gullah Geechee cooking; and Tiller Baking Co. Heritage Grit and Heritage Carolina Gold Sourdough, and local arugula.
One of Slow Food’s missions is to preserve the vast biodiversity of foods that are at risk of extinction. “Ark of Taste” is a living catalogue of these foods that Slow Food works to keep in production and on our plates. The cooking class highlighted these unique plant-based ingredients.
Since the New Year is a time when people often consider making changes, particularly about their diet and their health. We asked Kelly her advice to someone wanting to explore a more plant-based diet in 2025.
“It doesn’t have to be all or nothing, but we are certainly tipped disproportionately towards convenience and ultra-processed foods. I like to think of it as what you are adding instead of what you are taking away. The more plants you add to your diet, the better you will feel and the more motivated you will be to let go of the foods that aren’t really serving your overall well-being,” says Kelly, adding that ordering food from AMOR is a great way to kick things off in 2025 and ease into incorporating more plants into your diet.
A good way to find out more about AMOR and to support what they are doing within our community is to attend the Merry Mingle Holiday Party from 5-8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7, at their location at 2 Magnolia Road in the Avondale Business District. The event will be a festive evening featuring live music from Lee Barbour, delectable hors d’oeuvres prepared by AMOR’s team, and holiday cheer for the whole family. Tickets are $45 for individuals, $35 for Healing Hearts members, and $25 for accessible, student, and kids. Tickets can be purchased online at www.amorhealingkitchen.org/merry-mingle.
Another way you can help AMOR this holiday season is by bidding on its silent auction, which runs through the Merry Mingle on Dec. 7. Auction items include stays at the Charleston Place downtown, Tides Hotel on Folly Beach, and a cabin near Brevard, N.C. There are also gift cards to local salons and spas, as well as restaurants such as Chubby Fish and Marbled & Fin, and even a curated dinner by James Beard Award-winning chef Jason Stanhope of Lowland. There are also beauty products, one-of-a-kind experiences, jewelry, and much more. New items are added regularly, so check back often at www.givebutter.com/c/rkUvtd/auction.
For more information on AMOR Healing Kitchen, drop by the shop at 2 Magnolia Ave. or visit www.amorhealingkitchen.org.
