The AIDS Project of Southern Vermont

The AIDS Project of Southern Vermont is a regional AIDS service organization that provides direct services to people living with HIV/AIDS, and HIV prevention services to those at most risk in Windham, Bennington, and southern Windsor counties.

 

Founded by volunteers in 1988 as a grassroots, community based group, the AIDS Project now fills an important statewide role in making sure that Vermont’s fight against the AIDS epidemic is strong and effective.

 

In 1998, the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont began the Dove Program—an initiative to provide food and personal care needs.  In 2005 they started “Gathering for Mealtime”—a partnership with the Vermont Foodbank, to add frozen meals, meats and vegetables to the mix. Under the guidance and direction of Cindy Hutcheson, the Project’s Food Services Coordinator, the Project spends a lot of time thinking about food--“how we give it, where it comes from, and what impact it can have on those who rely on the AIDS Project for food support.”

 

The AIDS Project has worked diligently to address individual needs with the “Gathering for Mealtime” program. Six months after its start, Cindy asked clients what they liked and disliked about the program—what changes they would like to see, what foods they missed and what foods didn’t work for their diets. The feedback was plentiful! The AIDS Project and the Foodbank worked together to make changes to the menu.

 

Currently, there are more than 25 meal choices—lasagna meat loaf, chicken stew, goulash, sausage, peppers and onion, turkey with stuffing, barbecued chicken, beef stew, spaghetti and meatballs, enchiladas and French bread pizza, to name a few. And for clients that would rather prepare their own meals, the “Gathering for Mealtime” offers frozen meats, fish and fresh produce that clients can season and prepare themselves.

 

The AIDS Project is always looking for ways to improve their meal and meat offerings. Each month, Cindy speaks with Jim Worcester and Dave Moyer, the Vermont Foodbank chefs. They discuss what’s working, what changes need to be made, and what’s cooking that week. Each conversation elicits new ideas and interesting observations that have led to lasting, positive change for “Gathering for Mealtime.”

 

According to Cindy, “The frozen food program and the Dove program have both been a huge success. I hear weekly how people couldn’t make it without the programs. They enjoy the food, and if they don’t they, tell me! I think it’s made a huge difference in their lives; they know that even if everything else is falling apart in their lives that we can still feed them, and that’s a great comfort to them. Food is such a universal thing, and when you bridge an impasse with food there is always good that comes from it. They are comforted by it, they are nourished by it, and they feel better for it.”

 

The AIDS Project of Southern Vermont also has a Bennington office.  Amin Ramzan, Direct Services Associate, offers the Dove and “Gathering for Mealtime” Programs, as well as HIV education out of the Bennington

 To learn more about the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont, visit www.AIDSProjectSouthernVermont.org