In 1992, Bill Fitzpatrick died of AIDS in Seattle, WA, where he was part of a grassroots organization that provided free nutritious meals to people with HIV and AIDS. His mother Sara Metcalf, who lived in San Juan, wanted to honor her son’s memory by ensuring that no one with HIV/AIDS in Puerto Rico ever had to deal with hunger and malnutrition as well as illness. Assisted by members of the Newcomer’s Club of PR and local friends, she founded Bill’s Kitchen in 1993.  The first cooks were island grandmothers and other locals from the mainland who brought the comfort of traditional Spanish and American food to people too sick and hungry to feed themselves.

They prepared the meals in their homes and distributed them from a carport.  They started with eight clients. Today Bill’s Kitchen serves over 800 people a year, including some clients’ dependent children.  And, although our food is prepared in a professional kitchen and meets the highest standards for medical nutrition therapy, it is still prepared with love, served with a generous heart, and delivered with a warm smile.