April 20, 2007
Contact: Michael Haritos
(510) 622-0222
Project Open Hand Opens New Grocery Center in Oakland
Agency Committed to Serving People Living with HIV/AIDS in the East Bay
OAKLAND - In January 2007, Project Open Hand opened the doors to a new grocery center in downtown Oakland. Project Open Hand has been serving meals and groceries to people with HIV/AIDS in Alameda County since 1989, and in late 2006 made the decision to move its grocery center from 3443 San Pablo Avenue, to a new facility at 1921 San Pablo Avenue in downtown Oakland.
While concerns over safety in the neighborhood around 3443 San Pablo prompted the move, the situation also created an opportunity for Project Open Hand to construct a new facility that better serves clients. Executive Director, Tom Nolan, says, "I've always been proud of the services Project Open Hand has provided to the community over the past 21 years, but given the opportunity, I felt we could do even more for clients in Alameda County." The new grocery center achieves that vision. It's larger, more efficient, and has a warmer and more welcoming atmosphere.
Weekly groceries are one of the services Project Open Hand offers its clients living with HIV/AIDS. Five days a week, clients visit the grocery center to pick up a pre-packed grocery bag filled with foods like cereals, canned goods, and peanut butter. In addition, clients also select foods from a menu of proteins, dairy products, and fresh produce. While this service was available in the old facility, the location and design of the new grocery center at 1921 San Pablo has been a big success with clients.
Already there is a slight increase in the number of clients coming into the grocery center compared to this time last year. And whereas the former grocery center became crowded easily, the new facility accommodates many, making it easier to pick up groceries or meet with a case worker. Clients are also pleased that the new grocery center is conveniently located near the 19th Street BART station and major bus lines. This only reduces the barriers of the people we serve receiving the nutrition they need. Overall, Project Open Hand clients are responding positively to the change.
Ensuring that people living with HIV/AIDS have reliable access to nutritious food is an important part of Project Open Hand's mission. The new grocery center in downtown Oakland demonstrates the agency's commitment to serving communities in the East Bay as long as the need is there.
Project Open Hand was founded in San Francisco in 1985 by Ruth Brinker, a retired food service manager, who began serving a nightly dinner to seven friends dying of AIDS. Project Open Hand began serving communities in the East Bay in 1989. Today, the agency provides 2,500 bags of groceries and over 11,000 meals each week to people in need in San Francisco and Alameda County. The first agency in the U.S. to provide home-delivered meals to people with HIV/AIDS, Project Open Hand has served as a model for 150 similar agencies throughout the U.S. and worldwide.
Since 1985, Project Open Hand has served over eleven million meals.
