Moveable Feast (organization)

Moveable Feast

Moveable Feast logo
Formation	1990[1]
Legal status	Active
Purpose	"Moveable Feast provides nutritious foods and other services in order to preserve quality of life for people with HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening conditions."[2]
Location	Baltimore, Maryland
Official language	English
Website	Official website

Moveable Feast is a nonprofit organization based in Baltimore, Maryland, which provides food and services to individuals suffering from HIV/AIDS, breast cancer, and those afflicted with terminal illness. Its founder Baltimore City Health Department official Robert Mehl recognized a need in the community for such services during the epidemic of HIV/AIDS in the United States. He assembled a committee at the direction of then-Baltimore mayor Kurt Schmoke, and the organization was founded in 1990. In its first year the organization's staff of three provided food and services to 60 clients biweekly and twice per day. By 2001 this had increased to attending to the nutrition needs of about 550 people in the region.

In 2003, the organization launched a program to train people with culinary skills which they could then apply towards gaining employment in the workforce. Trainees in the program included prisoners on parole, homeless shelters, and halfway houses; it graduated 11 people in 2004. By 2004 its staff had grown to 32 with additional volunteers, and gave food to 700 people five days weekly. Initially created with a focus of helping AIDS patients, its service outreach had expanded by 2007 to include those diagnosed with breast cancer and terminal illnesses. It received a $200,000 unrestricted grant from Bank of America in 2013 which assisted the organization with creation of a new distribution center on the Eastern Shore of Maryland to help expand their delivery efforts to people throughout the region.

The Washington Post profiled the group early in its existence in 1990, noting it provided vital goods and services to sick people in the region who had difficulty leaving their residences. The Baltimore Afro-American reported on the organization and noted how crucial volunteering was to its success. The Baltimore Sun called it an important group providing sustenance to ill people in the area. Because of their efforts encouraging their employees to volunteer with Moveable Feast, the company SC&H earned the Mayor's Business Recognition Awards for outstanding community service from the mayor of Baltimore in 2014.