Ruth Marie Brinker (May 1, 1922 – August 8, 2011) was an American

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 ...

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

and founder of the

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

Project Open Hand Project Open Hand is a California nonprofit organization that provides medically tailored meals and groceries to elderly and homebound people in San Francisco and Alameda County, California, Alameda County. Founded in 1985 to deliver meals to peop ...

. She began her activism in 1985 by providing food and

meals A meal is an eating occasion that takes place at a certain time and includes consumption of food. The names used for specific meals in English vary, depending on the speaker's culture, the time of day, or the size of the meal. Although they ca ...

to home-bound AIDS patients in

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 ...

who were too ill cook or shop. Brinker was born Ruth Marie Appel on May 1, 1922, in

Hartford, South Dakota Hartford is a suburban American city in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, a few miles northwest of Sioux Falls. Its population was 3,354 at the 2020 census. History Hartford was named in 1880 after Hartford, Connecticut. An early variant name wa ...

. She moved to

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, during the mid-1950s, where she married her husband, Jack Brinker, in 1957. They had two daughters, Lisa and Sara, but later divorced in 1965. By the mid-1980s, the AIDS epidemic was sweeping through San Francisco. One of Brinker's friends, who had AIDS and corresponding

malnutrition Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues a ...

, became too weak to

cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

or leave his home to go

grocery A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, an ...

shopping. Brinker, who was a grandmother at the time, and a group of her friends collaborated to provide the man with meals by dividing up the month to delivering them to his home. Unfortunately, some of the volunteers went on vacation and the man died by the time they returned to San Francisco. Ruth Brinker vowed not to allow the same fate happen to others in San Francisco. She had previously worked in the food service industry and as a volunteer for

Meals on Wheels Meals on Wheels is a programme that delivers meals to individuals at home who are unable to purchase or prepare their own meals. The name is often used generically to refer to home-delivered meals programmes, not all of which are actually named ...

, a similar predecessor which provides meals to people who cannot purchase or prepare meals. She began organizing volunteers on a larger basis to deliver hot meals to AIDS patients in the city. This led to the establishment of her nonprofit, Project Open Hand, which was founded in summer of 1985 by Brinker and seven of her friends. The organization began with a small

grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama *Grant, Inyo County, C ...

of $2,000 dollars from a

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

study group A study group is a small group of people who regularly meet to discuss shared fields of study. These groups can be found in a high school or college/university setting, within companies, occasionally primary/junior school and sometimes middle sch ...

and donated

cookware Cookware and bakeware is food preparation equipment, such as cooking pots, pans, baking sheets etc. used in kitchens. Cookware is used on a stove or range cooktop, while bakeware is used in an oven. Some utensils are considered both cookware ...

. Project Open Hand has since expanded to provide meals and other services to the elderly and people with other chronic illnesses. In 1987 and 1988, Project Open Hand served 300 AIDS patients using an annual budget of $500,000. As of 2011, Project Open Hand provides 2,600 meals a day using $5.6 million in public and private donations. Brinker's nonprofit has been copied by "dozens" of organizations throughout the United States, according to the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. Ruth Brinker died from complications of

vascular dementia Vascular dementia (VaD) is dementia caused by problems in the supply of blood to the brain, typically a series of minor strokes, leading to worsening cognitive abilities, the decline occurring piecemeal. The term refers to a syndrome consisting ...

at her home in San Francisco on August 8, 2011, at the age of 89. She was survived by her two daughters, one grandson and a great-granddaughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brinker, Ruth 1922 births 2011 deaths American health activists HIV/AIDS activists Activists from San Francisco People from Hartford, South Dakota Deaths from dementia in California Deaths from vascular dementia