35 YEARS AND COUNTING!

Open Hand was founded in 1988 by Michael Edwards-Pruitt to provide meals to a small group of friends and neighbors affected and disenfranchised by HIV/AIDS. Subsequently, our mission was expanded to meet the growing needs of our community, and OH now serves our friends and neighbors living with or disabled by chronic disease, homebound seniors, as well as at-risk youth & families. In fact, Open Hand has grown to become the nation’s largest community-based provider of home-delivered, medically appropriate meals and nutrition education – preparing, packing and delivering more than 5,000 meals every day across Georgia.

35 YEARS OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Open Hand is powered by nearly 10,000 volunteers -- many of whom volunteer on a weekly or monthly basis -- across our entire organization.

• Our drivers cover nearly 650,000 miles every year making meal deliveries.

• 92% of every dollar donated to Open Hand goes directly to meals and services for our clients.

• In 2011, Open Hand commemorated the delivery of our 20 millionth meal, and we’re fast approaching 40 million meals!

• We have a growing full-time staff of Registered Dietitians who provide nutrition education, counseling and therapy to Open Hand clients and, alongside our team of culinary professionals, ensure the nutritional value of our meals.

• We collaborate with over 150 other community organizations to eliminate redundancy and ensure that we reach as many of our at-risk neighbors as possible.

• We are highly regarded for best practices, highest-quality meals and innovative programming by our peer organizations.

As Open Hand commemorates our 35th anniversary, we give sincere thanks to you for helping us reach this milestone. With each recipe we create, each meal we prepare, and every delivery we make, we impact the lives of thousands of men, women, children throughout north Georgia.

On behalf of these wonderful individuals, thank you again for your support of our mission.