Living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-challenging illnesses is a daily battle.
Washington DC’s Food & Friends work hard to make sure no one has to face their troubles on an empty stomach. Along with nutrition counseling, Food & Friends prepares, packages, and delivers meals and groceries to more than 1,400 people living in DC.
“We started in 1988 in the basement of Westminster Presbyterian Church in SW DC, out of a desire to help members in the community who were living with HIV/AIDS and unable to prepare food for themselves,” said Carrie Stoltzfus, Client Services Manager for Food & Friends.
“Now entering our third decade of service, Food & Friends has prepared more than 11,500,000 meals to more than 18,000 children and adults living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life challenging illnesses.”
Marilyn began receiving nutritional care from Food & Friends back in 2008 after realizing “the complexity of [her] diagnosis [, breast cancer,] and how important it would be for me to have 3 meals per day that were nutritionally balanced.”
Having three meals a day delivered ever Monday through Saturday was not only helpful but critical, “This was especially helpful when I was coming back from my chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Food & Friends has been there for me. I had the ability to contact my own personal dietitian at Food & Friends whenever I needed to. Every dietitian that was assigned to me were all extremely knowledgeable about my condition and what was good and right for my health with reference to my dietary needs,” says Marilyn.
This unique meal plan is offered to every client and is free of charge. According to Stoltzfus, “Clients receive one of two meal plans. Home Delivered Meals is a program of 3 deliveries a week, 2 days worth of food at a time, consisting of a combination of fresh and frozen meals that are prepared here in our kitchen. Groceries -To-Go is a once a week delivery of 6 days worth of food, consisting of a combination of nonperishable items and frozen entrees. Food & Friends provides 12 different menu options depending on the needs and diet preferences of our clients.”
According to Kevin DiLallo, one of the founders of Food & Friends, “this nutritional service is about more than food, just treating these clients like ‘regular’ people boosts their confidence, feeding them gives them strength, and establishing relationships with them give them hope.”
Food & Friends hold many events throughout the year to encourage community support and to celebrate the progress of their client. “Thanksgiving is always a memorable experience at Food & Friends. Each of our clients receives a full Thanksgiving meal for 4 people, so they can host their family and friends. It’s our biggest delivery day of the year, so staff and volunteers start arriving as early as 4 am to start getting meals ready to go out the door. In that one day hundreds of people pass through our doors to package and deliver turkey dinners to our clients,” says Stoltzfus.
Antonio is 11 years old and living with leukemia. Since Antonio and his mother, Maria, began receiving meals from Food & Friends, his transformation has been nothing short of spectacular. Before Food & Friends, Antonio was not getting the nutrition he needed due to difficulty eating, a low appetite and nausea and side effects from his chemotherapy. Unable to work due to the demands of caring for an ill child, Maria remembers, “I felt like everything was falling down on me at once, like my whole [world] was falling apart.” When speaking on the many people involved with Food & Friends, Maria says, “I feel like they are supporting me like they are part of my family …Whether they are black, white, or Hispanic, it doesn’t matter to me. All come with the same [good] heart.”
Getting involved and volunteering for Food & Friends is encouraged and easy to do. “We have plenty of opportunities! We always need volunteers to deliver meals, work in the kitchen, or help with administrative tasks. We also need volunteers for our special events such as: Chef’s Best and Dining Out for Life [being held on Monday, June 1st], and we have a cycling fundraising event this fall. Financial support helps us keep our commitment to our clients. We have a monthly giving campaign called the Bread and Butter Club as well as other opportunities to donate,” says Stoltzfus.
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