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The No-longer New East Bay Grocery Center.

January 3, 2008 on 4:50 pm | In Main Category | No Comments

Wow, we are just shy of our one year anniversary at the still kind of new to us Grocery Center at 1921 San Pablo Avenue in Oakland! And what a year it has been, just to re-cap:

We offically moved into 1921 San Pablo on January 21, 2007. We decided to move after it became clear that crime around our old location had increased to the point that it was simply no longer safe or desirable for clients, volunteers or staff to visit. We were determined to stay in Oakland and we were equally determined to find a location that was convenient and safe for clients. We found the space at 1921 San Pablo in October of 2007 and in 3 short months our Facilities staff transformed the empty retail space into a first class Grocery Center. We served our first clients at 1921 San Pablo on January 22, 2007 and we never looked back!

Fast forward one year to the present day and the statistics bear out what we suspected; clients are much more comfortable visiting our new location, they tell us as much and we see it everyday. In our HIV Grocery Program, client visits have increased by over 10% compared with a year ago. In September 2007, we began our East Bay Breast Cancer Grocery Program which brought an additonal 15 clients per week into the Grocery Center.

All in all, it has been quite a year. The neighborhood around us has steadily developed and clients, volunteers and staff have all marvelled at the improvements. Moving is never fun, decorating is fun but moving can be tough. As we look back on the year that was we can say, without hesitation, that this move was the right choice. Many thanks to the staff and friends of Open Hand who helped make the move possible and a special thank you to Vicki, Diane and Michael for making 1921 a special place for clients and volunteers alike.