A Loving Spoonful (previously known as the Vancouver Meals Society) is a

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

-based

charitable organization A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

that provides free meals to people living with

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

(PWHAs) in the

Metro Vancouver The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 28 ...

area. Volunteers deliver approximately 1200 frozen meals and 1200 snack packs each week at an average meal cost of $3.50. In 1998 A Loving Spoonful was named as "the most efficient meal program service" in the region. The charity's motto is "No One Living With AIDS Should Live With Hunger."

Mandate

Services are offered to PWHAs who have been referred by their doctor because of severe weight loss or recent hospitalization, or because they are primarily homebound. The meals, which are prepared under the guidance of a nutritionist who specializes in HIV/AIDS, are frozen in individual portions and delivered to clients weekly.

History

In November 1989 a group of volunteers, recognizing the nutritional needs of people living with AIDS, began providing monthly meals at McLaren House, a group home for PWHAs. The event was named "Easter's Sundays" after Easter Armas-Mikulik, the woman who started the program. Due to high demand, and to the need to support PWHAs who were homebound, Armas-Mikulik created the Vancouver Meals Society (VMS), which ultimately became A Loving Spoonful. Following a needs assessment and the creation of a long-term budget in 1990, as well as study of established meal delivery programs in other major cities like

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

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and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, A Loving Spoonful began providing weekly delivery of meals in 1991.

Budget and fundraising

The charity's current operating budget is $630,000, which is raised via donations, bequests, fund-raisers, and government grants. A minimum of eighty percent of the money received is used to cover program expenses. Each year A Loving Spoonful and the Vancouver Friends for Life Society are the focus of an event called Dining Out For Life. Participating restaurants donate a portion of their proceeds on the day of the event, and diners are encouraged to make cash donations to volunteers, and are eligible for donated prizes.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Loving Spoonful, A Health charities in Canada HIV/AIDS organizations