Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Examiner - August 8, 2006
Bruce Miller, bmiller@baltimoreexaminer.com
"There is nothing out there that would fill this void," Moveable Feast Executive Director Vic Basile said. "People with HIV have special dietary needs because when you have a compromised immune system, it's very hard to absorb nutrients into the body."
Founded more than 17 years ago by a group of volunteers who would prepare meals from their homes for friends who were had AIDS, Moveable Feast, through its volunteers, now provides freshly prepared home-delivered meals and groceries to people in Baltimore City, all of the surrounding counties and on the Eastern Shore.
Basile said that about two-thirds of the organization's $2.1 million annual budget comes from federal funding, while the rest comes from private donations and the organization's fundraising programs. Last year, its annual bike ride generated $155,000, while its annual Dine Out for Life brought in about $60,000. Its fall gala, which will be themed after Truman Capote's Black and White Ball, is expected to bring in about $75,000. That event will be held Nov. 10.
"Despite the perception that HIV is now a manageable disease and the crisis is over, people are still dying," Basile said. "The problem of HIV in Maryland is really severe, particularly in Baltimore City."
Basile said that the number of people needing these services has increased each year since the nonprofit's founding. During the past two years, the organization has broadened its outreach by providing meals to women recovering from breast cancer.
It also offers an employment program called "People on the Move" for people living with HIV or AIDS, providing transportation to medical appointments and a shuttle service for homeless people in Baltimore City.
For Ruth Sutor, 79, one of the more than 4,000 volunteers who help prepare and deliver the meals to homebound individuals throughout the year, it was anger over how people with AIDS were stigmatized that spurred her to become involved with the organization seven years ago.
Each Tuesday, she said she helps to prepare the meals for delivery and finds her work very rewarding.
"When people were ignoring their families and treating this like it was a shameful disease, it really upset me that people could do that," Sutor said. "Disease is disease and when you're hurting you need someone to help you."
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More information
To make a donation to Moveable Feast, visit mfeast.org, or mail donations to Moveable Feast, P.O. Box 2298, Baltimore, MD 21203. For more information, call 410-327-3420.
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