“Project Open Hand helps me make healthier food choices,” says Howard, who has been a client of Project Open Hand for about 10 years.
“The fresh fruits and vegetables I get from Project Open Hand are an important supplement to my diet,” Howard says. “Strawberries, blueberries, mangoes, yellow peppers – the variety gets me to take home nutritious foods that I wouldn’t necessarily buy on my own. I know fresh produce is an important part of staying healthy, and getting groceries from Project Open Hand makes it a lot easier to make healthy choices.”
Groceries from Project Open Hand also help Howard, who retired in 1998, to stretch his budget, providing up to one-third of his food some weeks: “My income dropped significantly when I retired, and I’ve been living on Social Security for a while. Groceries from Project Open Hand save me $30-$40 dollars a week. When you’re retired like me, that can really add up over the course of a year.”
“Project Open Hand is a very welcoming place,” he adds. “The staff – especially Mary Beth and Joe, who greet everyone when they arrive – are always so courteous. They always have a kind word for me.”
More than 400 clients a day visit our grocery centers in San Francisco and Oakland. Good nutrition from Project Open Hand enables them to better manage the symptoms of disease, mitigate the side effects of treatment, and can speed recovery.