A Mother’s Approach to AIDS

After losing her son Tommy McGovern to AIDS, White Plains resident Joan McGovern decided to comfort those suffering from the disease the only way a mother knew how: by feeding them.

Joan McGovern, who passed away on Nov. 3 at age 86, soon thereafter co-founded The Lord’s Pantry in June 1991 along with Frances Gray and Ann Weiss, both White Plains residents who also lost a son to AIDS.

Two decades later the non-profit organization has provided more than 700,000 meals throughout Westchester to HIV and AIDS patients, as well as their families and caregivers. 

“It was in those convoluted circumstances that these mothers in their grieving somehow got together, and did what they needed to do to help nourish people,” said The Lord’s Pantry’s Director Phil McGovern of White Plains, Joan McGovern’s son. “We’re carrying on the work of The Lord’s Pantry.”

The non-profit organization provides three home cooked meals a day as well as groceries to those suffering from HIV and AIDS in: White Plains, New Rochelle, Eastchester, Mamaroneck, Port Chester, Mount Vernon, Elmsford, Ossining, Hartsdale, Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow, Mount Kisco and Bedford Hills.

“We cook the same way your mother would cook—everything from scratch,” says McGovern. “It’s really from a mother’s perspective. It’s kind of the chicken soup thing. What would you mother do first when you have a cold? She’d feed it with chicken soup. I think that was the reaction from those three, and they just got together and did something.”

The three women began cooking meals in their own kitchens, buying their own supplies and relying on donations from local restaurants and companies. Now, The Lord’s Pantry cooks its meals out of St. Bartholomew’s Church, 82 Prospect St. in White Plains. It's offices are located at 177 Davis Ave. in White Plains. 

The Lord’s Pantry used to feed about 140 people, but since losing it’s federal funding from the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act program last year—it currently feeds about 50 people and solely relies on contributions from corporations and private donations.

Click here to read more about The Lord’s Pantry and here to make a donation. The Lord’s Pantry also runs off the kindness and work of volunteers to cook and deliver the meals, click here to learn more about volunteering.

“In those days [when The Lord’s Pantry was started] you’d watch people waste away,” said Phil McGovern. “With the anti-viral drugs now, we find clients who’ve been with us for 18 years and have recently died—but, the idea is that they don’t have to worry about food. It’ fresh, it’s delivered and you can sit down and have a meal. We want to take away from their stress.”

Clients are referred to The Lord’s Pantry though hospitals, the department of social services, clinics and AIDS-Related Community Service (ARCS). According to AIDS.gov, 1.7 million people in the U.S. have been infected with HIV since the first case of AIDS in the U.S. was discovered in June 1981; including 615,000 who died and the 1.1 million who are currently living with it today.

Click here for more information on AIDS and here for a history on AIDS in the Huffington Post from Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institution of Allergy and Infectious Disease of the National Institutes of Immunoregulation. 

“It’s only fitting on World AIDS Day to remind people that AIDS is real, and it’s here and it’s impacting our community and our neighborhoods, everyday,” said Phil McGovern.

World AIDS Day is celebrated on Dec. 1 to bring awareness to AIDS and HIV. Read more about World AIDS Day here.