2 Groups Unite to Provide AIDS Sufferers Free Meals : Concern: Nonprofit group and restaurant join to help victims unable to prepare their own food.

Two human-service organizations on Tuesday began delivering specially prepared meals to 10 San Diegans with AIDS who are homebound and unable to prepare their own food.

Mama’s Kitchen, a recently formed nonprofit group, and Eggie’s, a North Park restaurant owned and operated by the Assn. for Retarded Citizens, modeled the project on San Diego Meals-On-Wheels and programs in other cities where people with AIDS receive free hot meals.

Mama’s Kitchen plans to expand the program by late 1991 to meet the nutritional needs of the estimated 150 San Diego residents with AIDS who lack access to hot meals.

“Everything is going smoothly,” Michael Chadwick, founder and president of Mama’s Kitchen said Tuesday afternoon as the project’s first meals were being prepared at Eggie’s. “This is just the beginning.”

Chadwick said he got the idea for Mama’s Kitchen last winter when a friend with AIDS could not get meals from Meals-On-Wheels because that program was full.

“This program is so very important because there are so many sick people who are out of the hospital who need medical and nutritional help,” Chadwick said. “It’s also unique because it’s helping two groups of people”--those with AIDS and those with developmental disabilities trying to learn the restaurant business at Eggie’s.

Long-term expansion of the partnership between Mama’s Kitchen and Eggie’s will depend on the success of fund raising, ranging from fund-raising parties to the solicitation of corporate sponsorship, said Chadwick, who has experience in the restaurant and food-management fields. About $6,000 has been donated so far, he said.

The project’s $150,000 annual budget this year could expand to $400,000 if the program succeeds in serving all those who need the service, now estimated at 150, Chadwick said. Mama’s Kitchen based that number on the client list of Aunty Helen’s Fluff and Fold, a free laundry service provided to people with AIDS.

To qualify for meals, a person must have their AIDS condition verified by a doctor or caseworker. There is no charge for the meals.

“Ninety-five percent of our clients are on Social Security (disability), so they have very little money,” said Laurie Leonard, executive director of Mama’s Kitchen. “We don’t want to make their (financial) troubles any worse.”

Eggie’s, a restaurant and bakery that trains mentally retarded workers for employment at outside restaurants, will prepare the meals, said Dick Eller, the facility’s manager. Eggie’s, which also prepares meals for other delivery programs and school systems, will be paid $9 per day for each Mama’s Kitchen client.

Mama’s Kitchen volunteers will work in pairs to deliver the meals from about 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The volunteers will spend time socializing with each client. About 20 people have volunteered and more are expected as the client list expands and word of the program reaches the community.

Volunteers will be trained to prepare them for dealing with AIDS patients and support groups will be established to help volunteers cope emotionally with the expected death of some of the clients on their routes.

By spending time with each client, volunteers can establish friendships and also give the person who regularly cares for the client some free time, said Leonard, who has worked in psychiatric case management and been involved in AIDS social services since 1986. Her brother and best friend died of AIDS-related complications and her roommate has AIDS.

Two meals will be delivered each weekday, a hot meal and a lunch to be heated for the next day. Fruit, cold food and liquids also will be available for clients.

The menus will be determined by dietitians from the Assn. for Retarded Citizens, UC San Diego Medical Center and meal delivery programs for AIDS patients in other cities. The menu will vary daily but will be tailored for clients with specific nutritional needs.

Because acquired immune deficiency syndrome often causes severe weight loss, each client’s meals will contain 4,000 calories a day. High-caloric nutritional supplements also will be available. Tuesday night’s menu included roast sirloin, mashed potatoes with gravy, fresh green beans, croissant with butter, apple pie and milk.

Chadwick said he and Leonard will receive annual salaries of $30,000 as the only employees of Mama’s Kitchen. All other work will be done by volunteers.