[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 123 (Friday, August 12, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1517]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       IN MEMORY OF RUTH BRINKER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, August 12, 2011

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness I rise to pay 
tribute to a beloved San Franciscan, Ruth Brinker, who died Monday, 
August 8th in San Francisco.
  Ruth was a visionary hero who brought healing to San Francisco at a 
time of horrific tragedy in our city's history. In 1985, the AIDS 
epidemic was ravaging San Francisco. A retired widow and grandmother 
who loved to cook, and volunteered for Meals on Wheels, Ruth noticed 
that malnutrition was killing many who were terminally ill with AIDS 
before the disease took its toll, but there were no social service 
agencies providing meals to those too weak from AIDS or too 
impoverished to feed themselves.
  First in her kitchen, and then in a church basement, Ruth prepared 
delicious meals to deliver to seven San Franciscans wasting away from 
AIDS. She solicited volunteers and within a few years, one woman's 
attempt to nurture and care for a handful of people living with AIDS 
grew into an organization serving 500 meals a day.
  As the epidemic spread, Project Open Hand expanded its nutritional 
services for those with disabling HIV, and, years later, broadened its 
mission to include ``meals with love'' for homebound and critically ill 
clients, seniors and the disabled. They also extended their reach 
beyond San Francisco to Alameda County.
  Long before the advent of powerful medications to control HIV/AIDS, 
Project Open Hand's home-cooked meals and groceries were a lifeline to 
the ill and isolated individuals battling this devastating disease. 
Project Open Hand has been using ``food as medicine'' with great 
compassion and care for 26 years, bringing dignity and independence to 
those it serves. Now in its 26th year, Project Open Hand delivers 3,500 
meals every day and serves as a model to more than a hundred 
organizations in the United States, and increasingly around the world.
  In 2005, Ruth received the prestigious Jefferson Award for public 
service. In 2007, I was proud to nominate Project Open Hand for the 
national Victory Against Hunger Award from Congress. Last year, Project 
Open Hand honored her with its Visionary Award which will now be named 
in her honor.
  As our nation marks 30 years since the first AIDS diagnosis, we are 
inspired by the commitment and compassion of Ruth Brinker in the 
earliest days of the epidemic.
  I hope it is a comfort to her daughters Lisa and Sarah, her grandson 
Max and great-granddaughter Bailey that so many people loved Ruth and 
will never forget her. Her wonderful spirit and her legacy will live on 
in the hundreds of meal-delivery organizations worldwide that she 
inspired and the millions who have received food and love because of 
Ruth's courage and compassion.

                          ____________________