Vital Bridges, which had delivered meals to Chicagoans living with HIV/AIDS but ceased deliveries last year, resumed those deliveries March 21, according to activist Lori Cannon, who is program coordinator at the Vital Bridges North Side Grocery Center.
Cannon said that her pantry was given "exempt" status from the state's March 20 shelter-in-place order.
"As expected the response from folks volunteering to drive has been overwhelming," she added.
Vital Bridges grew from the original Open Hand Chicago, a group of Chicago activists, who, in 1988, began to assemble and deliver meals to persons with HIV/AIDS. Open Hand Chicago became part of the Heartland Alliance organization in 2011. It discontinued its original food-delivery program in 2019, but the coronavirus pandemic necessitated its return.
"Once again, with another pandemic, the LGBT community has risen to help one anotherand the world," said Cannon.