A Loving Spoonful is celebrating 30 years of service towards their mission of making sure that no one living with HIV/ AIDS lives with hunger.
For the past three decades, the volunteer-driven society has provided free meals and nutritional support to people living with HIV and co-existing illnesses within Metro Vancouver and the surrounding regions.
Their work began when founder Easter Armas started providing meals to those living with HIV/AIDS right out of her apartment kitchen in the West End; these meals were then delivered by a group of friends.
Today, a dedicated group of volunteers deliver healthy grocery options and nourishing meals to families and individuals who are HIV+ and homebound each week. Last year alone, volunteers contributed an incredible 8,242 hours of service! On average, A Loving Spoonful provides an average of 100,000 meals each year and has distributed 3 million meals since its inception.
A Loving Spoonful’s community of dedicated volunteers, staff, donors, and supporters are tied with their shared core values of food, love, hope, and compassion, playing an important role in people’s lives with their dedication to their clients. The society is proud to lend a helping hand and be a leader in the community offering the best in nutritious, high quality food while serving those in need with compassion and understanding.
Lisa Martella, Executive Director of A Loving Spoonful and Artist Joe Average at the Vancouver Pride Parade.
During COVID-19, A Loving Spoonful has seen many generous new volunteers step up to pack meals and drive. As a result, they were able to quickly scale up their distribution to assist groups in the community experiencing food insecurity during a time of uncertainty and difficulty. Some of these groups include single women with children living in the Downtown Eastside, people with disabilities, and low income DTES residents and seniors. During the pandemic, they are now serving an extra 10,000 meals per month.
Early on during the pandemic, the society received some generous donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations who made contributions to ensure operations could continue on. The Vancouver Foundation provided a grant that allowed for people on their waiting list to immediately receive service. Some of the other larger grants were thankfully received from TELUS Foundation, MAC Foundation, Vancouver Coastal Health, Community Food Centres Canada, Tableau Foundation, and Scotiabank.
A Loving Spoonful receives approximately 20% in government funding; the remainder must be raised through fundraising activities. After 30 years of providing a compassionate meal service to the community, the society hopes to make it to 31 years.
Delicious and sweet Pride candy bags are being sold at select Bank of Montreal locations to raise money for A Loving Spoonful.
In commemoration of A Loving Spoonful’s 30th year, any donors who make a donation over $30 from July 27th to August 31st will receive a special rainbow candy treat with their tax receipt in the mail.
To donate, visit alovingspoonful.org or call 604.682.6325
