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Food and Friends kitchen staff preparing meals.
Living with HIV/AIDS, cancer or other devastating illnesses is difficult enough. Besides family, finding people who care enough to help should not compound the problem. Food and Friends has been there for 20 years providing meals, groceries and nutritional counseling at no charge to adults and children suffering from HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life challenging illnesses in the District of Columbia and 14 counties in Maryland and Virginia.
Food and Friends originally began their service by providing meals to people suffering from HIV/AIDS. Today, while 50 percent of their clients are those suffering from HIV/AIDS, nine years ago the organization expanded their services to include adults and children suffering from cancer and other life threatening illnesses. Most of their clients are referred by health clinics, Oncology programs or social workers. The largest percentage of their clients are referred by the Whitman Walker Clinic.
A staff of 50 along with the 13,000 people who volunteer during the year, work tirelessly to provide services and support to their clients. Food and Friends is the only organization of its type in the DC area that provides nutrition counseling to their clients so that one of the 11 specialized diet meal plans can be delivered. The food is centrally prepared at their building located at 219 Spriggs Road NE, Washington, DC, one of the largest of its kind in the United States. The organization then makes a delivery each day containing three meals either through direct home delivery or to a centrally located drop point.
How has the economy affected Food and Friends? “We are starting to see the economy turn around,” stated Craig Schniderman, Executive Director. “We prefer to think optimistically.” There is the constant challenge finding government and private funders to keep up with the increased demand for services. While Food and Friends provides a unique type of service, the organization is proud of its own success story. Despite the economy, Food and Friends has not missed a single meal delivery nor have they had to reduce staff.
Adults and children living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and life challenging illness is devastating. Balancing the increasing demands for the services offered by the organization while maintaining the comfort and care Food and Friends provides is essential. To date, Food and Friends has delivered almost 1 million meals to over 3,000 clients living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and life challenging illnesses. Food and Friends provides not only meals and nutritional support, but care and comfort at a time when it’s needed the most.
Food and Friends deliver “meals and friendship”, please visit their website to find out how you can help.
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