In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with David Waters, CEO of Community Servings a nonprofit food and nutrition program providing services throughout Massachusetts to individuals and families living with critical and chronic illnesses. Community Servings delivers 377,000 free, home-style meals to 1,450 people per year who are too sick to cook for themselves or their families. They currently care for clients with 35 different life-threatening illnesses. Their service includes a customized, nutritionally-packed lunch, dinner, and snack for sick clients, their caregivers and dependent children.
When asked how he got involved with Community Servings Waters stated, “Community Servings started over 21 years ago as a program in the HIV community back when there were no drugs available to care for people that we loved who had HIV. We figured out as a community you could keep someone alive a little longer while we were waiting for the first drugs to come online by feeding them because your body needs fuel to fight off the virus. And as a young gay man, HIV came along just as I was coming out and it was terrifying to sort of see love and relationships directly tied to illness and death. Community Servings was a way for me as a food professional to find a role and to make sense of HIV. We started feeding 30 people a day 21 years ago and we have now provided about 4.5 million meals to people with HIV and other illnesses.”
Under David Waters leadership, Community Servings has expanded its mission to feed those with other acute, life-threatening illnesses, including cancer, multiple sclerosis, amyothrophic lateral sclerosis and liver disease. Community Servings has also introduced a food service job training program and nutrition education classes for its clients who become well enough to leave the program and for members of the community. The agency has also taken a leadership role and partnered with the Association of Nutrition Services Agencies in reaching out to Ikamva Labantu, an agency struggling to provide nutrition support in fighting AIDS in South Africa.
LifeSavor 2011 Community Servings Annual Spring Gala will be held on Thursday, March 31, 2011. LifeSavor is an ideal way for Boston chefs, caterers, and restaurateurs to support Community Servings' clients. Through their generosity, LifeSavor is now Boston's premier "Dinner Party with a Conscience" which raises 16% of Community Servings' annual operating budget. This is a fabulous event and a great way to help support this outstanding organization.
For More Info & LifeSavor Tix: servings.org
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