[Viva] FW: AIDS Vancouver Grocery In Crisis

[Tami S.]

-------Original Message-------

 

From: Fleur <mailto:fleurc at aidsvancouver.org>  Cooper

Date: 6/3/2010 4:03:05 PM

Subject: AIDS Vanoucver Press Release

 

For Immediate Release

June 3, 2010

 

AIDS Vancouver Grocery In Crisis

 

(Vancouver) - AIDS Vancouver Grocery is facing a food shortage that will
severely compromise its ability to deliver nutritionally rich food to our
HIV+ clients in need. 

 

AIDS Vancouver used to receive around 30-40% of the Grocery's non perishable
items from the Greater Vancouver Food Bank. However due to their own food
shortages they are only able to provide AIDS Vanouver with 20% of non
perishable items.  Since the AIDS Vancouver Grocery relies heavily on the
success of the Greater Vancouver Food Bank, these recent food shortages have
lead to a trickle down affect with AIDS Vancouver Grocery clients being the
ones most affected.

 

The majority of AIDS Vancouver clients who access the Grocery live below the
poverty line. AIDS Vancouver Grocery was designed to be a supplemental
grocery however it is fast becoming the main source of food for their
clients.  

 

"Either we fill the shelves with whatever we can find that equates to very
little nutrition or we pull back on quantity and only provide nutritionally
valuable items that we can afford. This is an extremely difficult choice
when you are faced with feeding over 600 people in a grocery period. It also
negates our mandate of providing nutritionally relevant food for people with
complex health issues who have compromised immune systems". Mike Fraser,
Grocery Co-coordinator said.

 

AIDS Vancouver now has to find in their limited budget a way to supply these
non perishable items to make up the shortfall from the Greater Vancouver
Food Bank. With these food shortages and continual increase in prices of
milk, eggs and produce the AIDS Vancouver Grocery is now being stretched to
its limits. 

 

AIDS Vancouver continually applies for grants to help supplement our grocery
budget, and they recently received support from the Shooting Stars
Foundation and the Elizabeth Taylor HIV/AIDS Foundation but with the limited
availability of funding overall, and the increased need they are now seeing,
they are in desperate need of more funding for this program.  

 

-30-

 

Media Contact:

Fleur Cooper

Development and Communications Manager

AIDS Vancouver

1107 Seymour St 

Vancouver, BC, V6B 5S8

fleurc at aidsvancouver.org

604 696 4657

 

Since 1983 AIDS Vancouver has been providing programs and services through
education, support and community-based research as it relates to HIV and
AIDS. By donating, volunteering, and supporting us you become a part of this
legacy.

 

 

www.aidsvancouver.org

 

 

 


		

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.resist.ca/pipermail/viva/attachments/20100603/1b3e0f0a/attachment.html>