Skip your home-cooked meals this Thursday, April 27, and instead dine out at local restaurants and support AIDS Foundation Houston‘s annual event Dining Out For Life, which raises funds to help individuals affected by HIV/AIDS lead healthy and productive lives without stigma and discrimination.

More than 40 Houston restaurants are participating in the annual event, and they will donate 25 percent of their day’s food, beverage and liquor sales to AFH’s programs and services that also help to prevent new HIV infections. You’ll have the entire day to eat for the cause – stop into the participating restaurants during their regular business hours and enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner. Want to see a list of the 40-plus restaurants? Click here.

Can’t make it to a restaurant on Thursday? You can still support AIDS Foundation Houston and donate to its Stone Soup food pantry by participating in the Gillman Subaru Southwest food drive (10575 W. Sam Houston Pkwy. S.). The dealership is collecting canned vegetables, dry cereal, oatmeal, dried and canned fruit, peanut butter, canned tuna and other non-perishable items through this Thursday, April 27.

We checked in with Kelly Young, CEO of AIDS Foundation Houston, and learned more about Stone Soup, our city’s food-assistance program designed to meet the needs of HIV-positive clients.

How did Stone Soup come to be?
Stone Soup began in 1984 out of a closet in the McAdory House [an ambulatory AIDS patient facility] and is considered one of the first food pantries serving the HIV/AIDS community. At that time, people were dying from the opportunistic diseases that came with the weakened immune system caused by the HIV virus. McAdory and Stone Soup gave people a place to live with dignity and access to food. During the first decade, the medications needed to slow the effects of the HIV virus required individuals to take additional nutrients, and the pills themselves often had to be taken with a meal or, at the minimum, a snack. When new medications became available, some individuals regained stability. They became healthier and were able to start working again, gain access to food, etc. But there have always been individuals whose social and health disparities have kept them in poverty. As they struggle with gaining economic and housing stability, they’re still in need of food. Stone Soup has always been the “stigma-free” choice for the community. Here, it’s less about food and more about a friendly face.

How many people does Stone Soup serve?
We can only staff and provide food for two weeks out of each month, therefore we are able to serve 130 individuals. We are also open to non-positive homeless individuals. We offer testing and services to those individuals when they come in. It’s estimated that up to five percent of homeless individuals are HIV-positive and most likely are not receiving medical care.

How does Stone Soup differ from other food pantries?
Our goal is to provide food, but more importantly, we’re a place to re-engage in care and get tested for HIV without judgement. Individuals will never be stigmatized or treated differently for being HIV-positive or having AIDS.

How are nutrition and HIV linked?
Having food to take along with medication is a requirement for many, due to the toxicity of the medication. Additionally, nutrition is important to help combat the side effects of HIV and keep the immune system healthy.

Stone Soup food pantry. Photo by Joel Luks

What do you think is the biggest misconception when it comes to HIV?
I think that in our community people don’t understand that transmission of the virus from person to person can be prevented if those who are positive take medication consistently. It’s important that individuals get tested routinely. But there’s a lot of judgement and stigma that prevents people from getting tested in the first place or from using the support of family and friends to stay in care.

What sort of volunteer events do you host?
We have a camp in the summer, where our camp counselors are volunteers. We also have gardening and maintenance projects at our housing programs for low-income or homeless individuals. Volunteers can work food drives, work at our receptionist desk … really anything that makes it easy for those we serve to access services and care.

What is the #1 food item you most need?
Ready-to-eat food for those who are living on the street or may not have regular access to a kitchen, microwave or refrigerator.

How can Houstonians get more involved?
Houstonians can help end one of the most devastating medical crises we’ve ever seen by making sure those who have high vulnerability to the HIV virus have access to care. Volunteer, donate and, most importantly, be willing to view HIV as a public health issue and not a personal issue. Become that friendly face, like those who volunteer at Stone Soup.