Project Open Hand was founded in 1985 to provide people with meals at the height of the AIDS crisis.
Today, approximately 40 percent of the agency’s clients live with HIV. It provides more than 2,000 meals and 250 bags of groceries daily to San Francisco and Oakland residents.
The CEO of Project Open Hand, Paul Hepfer, talked about why the day is still important.
“So, there's still an issue about testing and awareness and prevention and for us it's promoting best practices and evidence-based approaches. And World AIDS Day is a vehicle that helps us.”
The organization’s mission emphasizes the importance of nutrition as a way to support people with their HIV treatment and lower the rates of hospitalization and depression. Project Open Hand is one of 18 local agencies in San Francisco that receives funding from the Department of Health and Human Services.
The federal government first commemorated World AIDS Day in 1988. A State Department memo revealed that the Trump Administration said it will not recognize World AIDS Day this year.
