The Snohomish Healing Project is a volunteer-run, not-for-profit providing fresh, nourishing, organic meals to community members recovering from cancer treatment. Founded and operated by Annie Simmons-Loftus, her kitchen is a joyfully calm yet lively place - buzzing weekly with volunteers sharing stories and recipes to the backdrop of classic tunes and clanking pots and pans.
Annie is a long-time advocate for making beautiful food out of whole ingredients. Her love for cooking stems from summer visits with her grandmother, who was a “wonderful cook!” and learning to create the meals she wanted to eat at home. Annie’s innate love for food led her through culinary school and into restaurant ownership. She volunteered with World Central Kitchen during the California wildfires, providing the community with meals on the frontline in the midst of a devastating season. Through these experiences and each season of life, Annie knew she wanted to create a more peaceful kitchen environment, driven by something of meaning and impact.
When her close friend, Lisa Fidler, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Annie felt what most people feel when cancer arrives uninvited - helpless. She began spending time with Lisa each week, cooking for her and filling her fridge with wholesome food to provide her strength through treatment and as a daily reminder that she was deeply cared for. When Lisa’s mother began ordering meals for her through a local “Food is Medicine” nonprofit, Annie was curious and eager to get involved. She wanted to learn more about the organization behind this great gift.
Annie began to volunteer for the Ceres Community Project in Northern California and later became the kitchen manager where she learned the ins and outs of the program’s operations. Annie studied the Ceres affiliate training program, a model for building similar community programs in underserved areas. As she explored existing sister programs throughout the greater Pacific Northwest, she learned that no comparable program existed in the state of Washington.
Annie’s network of friends in Snohomish County helped lay the groundwork for the Snohomish Healing Project including current board president, JanRose Ottaway Martin. JanRose is a Snohomish County native who has worked extensively with Washington nonprofits and provided helpful guidance during the start up phase of the program. In 2023, the Snohomish Healing Project had their official launch dinner and has been operating steadily since, serving eighty-four clients and over a hundred family members and caregivers. Annie drives from her home in Portland, Oregon every week to source ingredients, lead the kitchen operations, and cook gourmet meals for the community.
“This isn’t just about filling bellies. It’s about nourishment and providing sustainable, nutritious meals,” Annie says. “Up to 80% of cancer patients suffer from malnutrition.” She designs each menu with intention, balancing nutrition, flavor, and variety so clients get as much sustenance as possible. The menu offers things like oven-fried chicken with mashed potatoes, spring peas and carrots, or Thai basil turkey with coconut rice and a veggie stir fry. Many of the dishes are classic, comfort foods with a healthy twist and Annie seeks to balance meals that are delicious and beautiful as well as familiar and comforting. Clients often remark on “actually liking” ingredients they hadn’t previously considered, which is a huge win in Annie’s book.
Each week, volunteers gather around the kitchen to prepare ingredients, cook each dish, package, and deliver meals to clients in all corners of Snohomish County. Many of the volunteers have been touched by cancer personally or as caregivers and have a deep understanding of the physical, emotional, and financial toll cancer can have on patients and loved ones. “Many family members of cancer patients express a sense of helplessness, fear, and sadness,” says Annie. Volunteers have shared that contributing to the Snohomish Healing Project gives them a sense of community and a way to help. “This is a gift to the volunteers - it gives them something tangible to do. A way to help.”
Clients may receive up to two additional servings of seven meals per week for family members and caregivers to help reinforce their support system and ensure they are well cared for. “At the very least, we’re solving the question of ‘what’s for dinner’ and alleviating some of the financial burden that often comes with a cancer diagnosis,” Annie shares. Meals are provided free of charge to clients, regardless of their income or financial status.
The Snohomish Healing Project operates thanks to grants as well as in-kind and individual monetary donations. In 2026, they were honored to receive the Growing for Good grant, funded by PCC Markets. Fresh, organic produce is generously provided by Radical Roots Farm, a no-till sustainable market farm here in Snohomish. Fresh, wild-caught seafood such as black cod and halibut is given by You Are What You Eat Fish Company, a fourth-generation family business focused on sustainability. Haggen Supermarket has provided all grocery bags from the beginning as well as a small grant in 2025. Individual donors along with these local community partners make it all possible.
In addition to serving the cancer community of the county, The Snohomish Healing Project offers a Teen Development Program designed to educate youth on cooking techniques, sourcing ingredients, recipes and kitchen skills. Through peer-to-peer mentorship, teens learn their way around the kitchen and how to serve others through the gift of thoughtfully prepared meals.
If you would like to learn more, the Snohomish Healing Project is currently accepting new clients, welcomes donor interest, and volunteer opportunities are available. Visit https://snohohealing.org/ or contact info@snohohealing.org for more information.
“This isn’t just about filling bellies. It’s about nourishment and providing sustainable, nutritious meals."