Dear Friend of Project Open Hand,

 
    
Project Open Hand was founded by Ruth Brinker in October 1985 to meet the nutrition needs of people with AIDS. As a former Meals on Wheels manager, Ruth recognized that many people dying of AIDS were actually dying of wasting disease and malnutrition — and she knew she could do something about that.

     Today Project Open Hand delivers 2600 meals a day and provides 1600 grocery shops every week for our clients. In addition, there are now dozens of organizations like us throughout the country and around the world, for which Open Hand can take credit as having set an example.

    In the beginning, Ruth believed, as many did at that time, that a cure for AIDS might be found in the next couple of years. Then, she felt, she could turn her attention to anyone who was seriously ill — with cancer, heart disease or other critical illnesses.

   Little did she or anyone know how devastating the AIDS epidemic would turn out to be.

   Project Open Hand has grown over the years to meet the changing conditions of our clients first of all, as well as to meet the challenges of the economic, political, and social environment surrounding the AIDS epidemic while expanding our mission to feed those who are homebound critically ill, and providing meals to seniors at community sites.

    With all that we do, one thing never changes: our devotion to Ruth's fundamental mission of providing “meals with love” — nor have we deviated from the volunteer-centric nature of much of our work. Today, 24 years later, over 100 wonderful volunteers help us to fulfill Ruth's mission every single day.

    Next year, in 2010, Project Open Hand will be celebrating our 25th anniversary. In recognition of that fact and in light of great needs we have as an agency, our Board of Directors is conducting a 25th anniversary campaign, Food for Life.

    Food for Life aims to raise $2.5 million in order to fund a wide range of projects.

    Capital improvements will include making our building on Polk Street more energy efficient with projects including replacing all of the windows in our building, and completing the process of converting all of our vehicles to the highest-mileage and lowest-emissions models possible. Another major piece of the puzzle will be to finish covering our roof with solar panels; the sets of panels we installed in 2008 have already proven very effective in controlling costs and reducing pollutants from the air.

    On the operations side, the campaign is intended to shore up our resources as we continue to meet not only the enormous challenges of the current economy but also to simply meet the ongoing cost of providing meals and services to our clients.

    I am pleased to report that, at the time that this publication goes to press, we are very fortunate to have received an initial gift from the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund and other generous contributions. Although the campaign has not yet been publicly announced, we have already secured over $500,000 — in cash and pledges — towards our goal.

    Food for Life officially kicks off at our annual Hand-to-Hand luncheon on December 8, 2009. We hope to reach our fundraising goal by the next Hand-to-Hand event in 2010.

    I want to thank everyone who has supported us in so many ways these first 24 years, and thank you for continuing to support us as we prepare to move forward in meeting needs of those who depend on us for the next 25 years, and beyond.


Tom Nolan
Executive Director

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   In doing our part to nourish the sick and elderly, Project Open Hand has joined the local, sustainable food movement to continue to provide the freshest, most nutritious items to our clients. Dan Schuman, Project Open Hand’s Director of Operations, says, “Buying locally supports a more sustainable food system while also eliminating the expense of paying a premium to a wholesale distributor. It helps local businesses, the environment and it puts us in direct communication with our suppliers who understand the nutritional needs of our clients.” Currently Project Open Hand purchases a variety of whole grain bulk beans, pastas, bread and cereals – all of which are boxed and shipped directly to Project Open Hand. – fresh from the mill. “We know who makes it, where it is made and what ingredients were used to make it. This kind of information is not always available when buying wholesale through a distributor.”

    Another innovation is grinding and packaging freshly made peanut butter for distribution in our grocery centers. Dan explains, “It’s a much healthier, all-natural product containing no trans-fats and no additives, just American grown peanuts – it just tastes better! We simply don’t need to add ingredients that extend the life of our peanut butter because the peanut butter is distributed to clients the same day it’s made. Each morning we fire up the peanut grinder and grind over 50 lbs of fresh roasted peanuts. Grinding the peanuts in the kitchen facility will save Project Open Hand 40% over wholesale – especially since the cost of peanut butter has doubled in the last two years.”

    Over the past few months Project Open Hand has been purchasing whole grain pastas and bulk beans directly from Eduardo’s Pasta Factory, and Guisto’s Vita-Grain in San Francisco. “We started out by sampling whole wheat elbow macaroni in the grocery centers for our clients to try and let us know what they thought. The result has been an improvement in taste, nutrition and quality. It is very important to have whole grain – no refined flower. Sometimes you have to pay a little more to buy the right product, and we found it – better taste, nutrition and quality” says Dan. Project Open Hand Nutritionist, Kim Madsen says, “Consuming most of our grains as whole grains is important in controlling and preventing high blood cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure. Our clients receive the nutritional boost they need. Foods made from white enriched flour lack the fiber, minerals, vitamins and phytonutrients found in foods made from whole grain flours. ”


 

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    In recent months, POH clients in the East Bay have been delighted to find a bounty of fresh delicious fruit at the Grocery Center, courtesy of Frog Hollow Farms. We all know that it is vital to nourish our bodies with good foods, because after all, we are what we eat. In these times, it’s important to recognize where our food comes from and we have all heard over and over to buy fresh and buy local, to choose organic pesticide-free foods to eat and to eat lots of them. Unfortunately, for many, these foods are too pricy to purchase on a regular basis as organic fruits can be expensive, and for some people paying $2.00+ per fruit versus paying $2.00 for 12 packages of ramen noodles is just not an option when there are hungry bellies to be filled. Thanks to East Bay volunteer Joyce Hemmer who went above and beyond her normal volunteer duties and established a weekly farmer’s market donation from Frog Hollow Farm, Project Open Hand is excited to now be able to offer the highest quality fruit to our East Bay clients. 25 different varieties of sustainably grown and painstakingly harvested tree fruits, including juicy and delicious peaches, nectarines, cherries, plums, and pears are grown at the certified organic 133-acre farm in Brentwood, CA. And, as our clients can attest, the fruit they have donated is in prime condition, and absolutely delicious. Thank you Frog Hollow, and especially “Farmer Al” and Sarah Coddington, for donating the fruits of your labor! For more about Frog Hollow Farm, visit their website at www.froghollow.com

    


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    13-year-old Jake Monasch loves golf. “I’ve been playing since I was eight, or maybe younger — I play with my grandpa and my dad.” He plays soccer too, but he’s pretty sure he likes golf better. “I also play on my middle school golf team,” he adds.

    Jake’s grandmother, Sandra Monasch loves to volunteer at Project Open Hand. A regular Wednesday morning kitchen volunteer going on four years now, Sandra says, “I’m always telling everybody how much I love to work there. I love the group, the whole organization. They do a tangible job. You see the results of your work right away.”

    
As part of the Bar Mitzvah preparation at Peninsula Temple Shalom, students are encouraged to get involved in a mitzvah project, a volunteer activity benefiting the community. Jake received information on a variety of charitable causes. He says, “My grandma was always saying amazing things about Project Open Hand. I wanted to see what it was about.”

    “Jake told me he that he was thinking about having a golf tournament to raise money for a cause. I’m thinking Open Hand is maybe one of his choices. I don’t know if he had other choices. He made me believe it was a competition,” she laughs.

    So she brought him with her one Wednesday morning. “I guess he was very impressed. He told me, ‘There’s no competition, Grandma. I’m going to do Open Hand.’”

    Jake held his tournament at Poplar Creek Golf Course in San Mateo. About 40 people participated including family members, friends of Jake’s parents, and friends from his middle and religious schools. With the help of his parents who own a soccer shop, Jake received donations from Adidas of tote bags for each player plus a several pairs of sunglasses for prizes; the Pro Shop at the course donated golf balls and gift certificates; a family friend who works at Harris’ Restaurant also brought in a gift certificate. Jake designed a logo for his event, which his parents, who also run a screen printing and embroidery business, had made into t-shirts.

    “We gave everyone a bag with a shirt, some golf balls, and fliers about Open Hand,” Jake says. “We gave out prizes at the end for whichever team had the best score, whoever had the longest putt, closest to the pin, longest drive.”

    In addition to raising money during the tournament, three weeks later at his Bar Mitzvah Jake also talked about Project Open Hand in his speech during the ceremony; he placed a collection box outside the synagogue for guests to donate.

    From both events, Jake raised over $1500 for Project Open Hand.

    “The day I gave the check was a lot of fun,” he reports. “We got to take a tour all around Project Open Hand. We saw a lot of what goes on there, and a lot behind the scenes.




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    Long time Project Open Hand volunteers Marie Crinnion and Richie McAllister are also big time fundraisers. In June of this year, as participants in AIDS Walk San Francisco, the couple raised approximately $11,000 just by hosting a single annual summer barbecue in their postage-stamp-sized Haight district backyard. But not any barbecue: An 11-hour party featuring live music and comedy, live and silent auctions, food and drink, and about 400 guests streaming in-and-out over the course of the afternoon and evening.
   
    How does one get such an idea? Richie and Marie tell their story.

    Project Open Hand: When did you first get involved with Open Hand?

    Marie Crinnion: In 1990, a girlfriend I grew up with decided to start volunteering at Open Hand when we graduated from college and she asked me if I wanted to do it with her. We delivered meals in the Tenderloin. She went back to school, and then another good friend of mine who is gay and wanted to become more active in helping people who had AIDS became my delivery partner. Then he went back to school and I met Richie. I’ve been lucky that I’ve never been without a good delivery partner!

    My second delivery partner actually did end up contracting HIV and has been living with it since 1995. It was hard in the beginning because most of the people we delivered meals to died eventually. I’ve had the same walking route the whole time. When you do meal deliveries regularly, you get to know people.

   POH: How did you get started hosting an annual fundraiser?

   Richie McAllister: When we met, Marie was already doing AIDS Walk San Francisco. When I signed up, they had this offer where a new walker could take the money they raise and choose which charity to designate.

   Separate from that, a friend of ours had a medical problem and no insurance. He was in the hospital. For a couple of cases of beer and a little food, we raised $1300. So that got our minds rolling.

   My parents were both heroin users in the 80s. They used dirty needles and they both died of AIDS. Most of my life, I was hush about it. But then I moved to San Francisco and met Marie and she influenced me to see how people were being helped with AIDS. And I realized we really have something here, Marie and I. Every year since we started we’ve been in the top ten individuals raising money for AIDS Walk San Francisco.

   The first year, in 2002, we raised $1500. Last year we had five bands, five comics, seven kegs of beer, all of the sound equipment, vitamin water — everything you need for a party to be successful we got donated. We put in maybe $500 of our own money and raised $11,000 in the backyard. The best part is, we know that money goes directly to Project Open Hand.

    Marie: It’s nice to have that as a tool to raise money. When you can look someone in the eye and say, ‘This is what I do every week and this is what your money is going to — your money is going directly to feed people and give them human contact.’ That makes a difference.

    Richie: Tom Nolan comes every year. The top guy at Project Open Hand, the fact that he takes the time to come to my house, my party, donates money. And he brings friends with him who donate money. He sees we’re going out of our way to help Open Hand. We go the extra mile to raise money. And he appreciates it. And in my world that’s everything; when you feel appreciated you want to do more.

    POH: How did you go from $1,500 to $11,000?

    Marie: It started out as just a barbecue, then the next year we got the idea to make it a little bit bigger. In our neighborhood, there are lot of people involved in music and performance. We have a friend who is a comedian, Yayne Abeba. She mentioned to me, ‘I could perform at your party, do a little comedy routine; do you think that would please the crowd?’

    From there I got the idea of asking other friends if they would donate their time and perform at our party so each year it’s grown. People who are in one band, they know somebody in another band, they tell them about it, word spreads, now people ask us, ‘Can I perform at your party?’

    Richie: We start planning in the spring. We put together a web page on the AIDS Walk site. The weekend of the party we set up our backyard, we hang a black curtain for the stage. We people-proof our two apartments so we have both kitchens and both bathrooms open and the bands can warm up inside.

    Marie: AIDS Walk gives us all kinds of banners and stuff to decorate. We hang a rainbow flag out front. The party goes from noon to 11pm; we never stop barbecuing. We have four chefs, 300-400 guests — not all at once. We have a donation station for guests as they come in. We never turn anyone away.

    I have one friend who is a chef. He comes over the night before to help prep and works all the next day. Not everyone has money to donate but a lot of people have time or talents they are willing to give and it all works out.

    POH: What else do you do during the party to raise money?

    Marie: We have a 50/50 raffle. The winner gets 50 percent of the pot and the other half goes to Open Hand. Every year, the winner will say ‘Just keep it.’ Except for last year. The winner was unemployed at the time and needed the money. But later that year he donated $1000 directly to Project Open Hand.

    Richie: We have a live auction with an auctioneer and a silent auction. I work in construction. I collect stuff from job sites; things people are getting rid of — furniture, stuff like that. And we get tons of gift certificates donated from restaurants and local businesses, plus people donate baseball tickets, kayaking trips, artwork.

    I’m from New York; Marie was born here. She’s got the gift; she can talk to people and get them to donate.

    Marie: This year, the auction raised $3000. Whatever doesn’t sell that day, we put out at a garage sale the following weekend. We made an extra $250 this year, $600 last year.


    POH: That’s a pretty big drop. Do you think that has to do with the economy?     
    
    Marie: Times are definitely different. This year, we were really pleased. We got more at the door — from people giving us money — than we ever had. But a lot of the auction stuff didn’t sell.

    Last year we raised about $13,000; this year we raised about $11,000. This year we had more people donating less money; last year we had less people donating more money. Hopefully if things are turn around by next year...?

    Richie: The word is out that we throw a blow out party!

    Richie and Marie’s party takes place on the last Saturday of June, during Pride weekend. For more information, visit the AIDS Walk web site: www.aidswalk.net.

    


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    A possible fatality of government budget cuts, the Noe Valley Senior Center, located at 1021 Sanchez Street in San Francisco, was scheduled to close July 1st. After reading the news Kathryn and James Ellman contacted Project Open Hand and offered to buy food to continue the lunch program for one month, and they made a matching challenge in the local newspaper, The Noe Valley Voice, for other people to donate. This last minute reprieve allowed just enough time to lobby the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to restore funding for the Noe Valley senior lunch site.

    “We believe very strongly about neighbors helping neighbors” says Kathryn. Both have been long time volunteers and supporters of the San Francisco Food Bank. “I learned the importance of food at a very young age, growing up in a humble background where we depended on food stamps,” she explains. After volunteering at the Center “I recognized some of the seniors from the community. It’s wonderful to see people coming together around food to socialize and receive a nourishing meal. Plus, Wendy Cohen, the senior site manager of the Noe Valley Senior Center “makes everyone feel welcome. She greets everyone by name and I can just tell that the seniors appreciate her warm and caring personality.”

    The help of the Coalition of Agencies Serving the Elderly, and the advocacy of seniors and friends, helped convince the Board of Supervisors of the importance of continued funding for senior lunch programs. At the end of the budget process, the Board of Supervisors approved the funds to maintain the Noe Valley senior lunch program through FY 2009-10. Jim Illig, Director of Government Relations says, “With these add-back funds, Project Open Hand’s “meals with love” will continue to bring elderly neighbors together each day for the nutrition, socialization, and services they need to continue living independently. It never would have happened without the strong support of Noe Valley neighbors and friends.”

    With the support of private donations and government funding, Project Open Hand provides meals at 20 senior sites in San Francisco and 5 in Alameda County. The Noe Valley Senior Center has been providing hot lunches for seniors since the early 80’s, and POH has been providing the meals since 1998. Many of the seniors have been attending this and other senior sites for many years and have developed close friendships. They look forward to a nutritious lunch and socializing and many of the sites offer programs including bingo, movies, arts, crafts, and music.

    Bill and Lois Hoskins couldn’t agree more. Married for 52 years, they have been coming for lunch at the Noe Valley Senior Center for almost 20 years. After retiring from professional careers at City College of San Francisco, they heard about the senior lunch program from a friend who encouraged them to visit. “We have been coming here ever since. We instantly liked the lunches, relaxed environment, and the people,” explains Bill. After lunch on Fridays seniors play board games, card games, listen to music – or the favorite, pinochle. Lois adds, “We were very glad when we heard the good news that the senior lunch program will remain open. It would have been nearly impossible for us to go elsewhere, especially since I struggle with a hip injury. We have made many good friends here over the years – friends like Project Open Hand founder Ruth Brinker. What Open Hand provides is much more than a delicious meal, this place is a social club.”

    Senior lunches are available to anyone over 60 years of age. Call or visit any of the POH lunch sites. For a list of locations, call Darin Rafaelli at (415) 447-2480, email us at seniors@openhand.org, or visit online at here to receive more information.



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The 14th Annual Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival on September 12 and 13 was a huge success, delighting thousands of chocolate aficionados with a wide array of decadent chocolate treats, chef demonstrations, a children’s activity area, and ice cream sundae eating contests, in spite of the loud and thunderous rainstorm early Saturday morning! The festival raised $50,000 in proceeds for POH. We would like to give a special thank you to the staff at Ghirardelli Square, over 30 participating vendors and over 400 volunteers who worked tirelessly to make this event a success. We had several fabulous corporate and volunteer teams, who turned out in fantastic numbers to help, including: AACO, American Red Cross, Artemis, Bank of America, Circle K International, Galileo High School Interact Club, GSS, PEO Chapter FX, PHPSA, Skyline High School Key Club and Wells Fargo. Over the past fourteen years with the Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival over $500,000 has been raised for Project Open Hand’s food and nutrition services—amazing! Over the years, a total of 450,000 attendees have enjoyed chocolate delicacies, 325 vendors have sampled their chocolate delights, and over 3,650 people have volunteered for this premier event. POH is so very thankful for the wonderful partnership we have with Ghirardelli Square!

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Serves eight

This recipe is from “The Open Hand Cookbook: Great Chefs Cook for Friends,” published by Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc. Copyright: 1989 by Project Open Hand.

8 1-pound young chickens
1 recipe sage butter (see SAGE BUTTER)
Grilled Shiitake mushrooms (see GRILLED SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS)
Olive oil to brush over birds
Salt and coarse-ground black pepper

For this recipe the mushrooms and sage butter are worked under the skin to cover the beast meat. The birds are cooked at a very high temperature so that the skin will achieve good color and be very crispy. At the same time, the butter protects and flavors the meat.

Rinse chickens inside and out, pat dry, and place birds on their backs, breast side up. Starting at the top (wing end), loosen the skin that covers the breast, being very gentle; do not tear the skin. Work sage butter and mushroom strips under the skin so that the mixture covers the breast meat. Pat the skin back in place.

Preheat oven to 500*F. Place birds in roasting pan, on a rack if you like, brush with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes. Test for doneness by shaking leg. If leg is loose in the socket, then the bird is done.

SAGE BUTTER
½ pound unsalted butter, softened
1 bunch fresh sage (about 20 leaves), cut into chiffonade
Grated peel of 1 lemon 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
¼ teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
½ teaspoon kosher salt


Put all ingredients into a food processor and process until well combined or mix by hand until smooth.

GRILLED SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS 16 large shiitake mushrooms Olive oil to brush on mushrooms Salt and coarse- ground black pepper

Brush mushrooms with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill mushrooms on a char-grill or broil them close to the flame or heating element in the oven. When mushrooms become tender and a little crispy, remove from the heat and allow to cool. Julienne them and combine with sage butter.


 

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    Project Open Hand’ 25th Anniversary 2010 calendars featuring beautiful watercolors created by renowned San Francisco artist Gary Bukovnik are now available for purchase. Gary has generously donated original artwork especially for the Project Open Hand calendar for the past 20 years. The series of paintings entitled “In Memory of Irreplaceable Friends” honors friends of Gary who were connected to Project Open Hand as volunteers, supporters or clients and joins their memory with the healing and natural goodness of foods ranging from grapes to delicious red apples. These special anniversary calendars make a wonderful gift and help Project Open Hand continue its mission of providing food and nourishment to improve the quality of life for our neighbors needing daily nourishment. If you would like to purchase calendars for holiday gifts, they are available for $15. Support Project Open Hand in providing ‘meals with love’ by purchasing a 2010 Project Open Hand Calendar by calling 415- 447-2419.
    




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