Gainesville Area AIDS Project logo

The Gainesville Area AIDS Project (GAAP)

A vital program of the Pride Community Center of North Central Florida, providing weekly lunches, personal hygiene products, and household supplies for individuals with HIV or AIDS, who are often discriminated against and face barriers to securing food or safe housing. 

  • GAAP began in September of 1993 when about 25 Persons Living with AIDS (PLWAs), caregivers, and friends joined together to consider the unmet needs of PLWAs in the Gainesville area. Two factors quickly became apparent: people wanted a place where they could go for support and social activities, and they wanted to avoid the hassles of paperwork!  

    By December of 1993, GAAP had begun a drop-in center at Trinity United Methodist Church, meeting on Tuesdays and Fridays, for brown bag lunches, games, and support from the “Mothers of GAAP.”  

    In 2002, the Pride Community Center of North Central Florida (PCCNCF) invited GAAP to host its services at our center, and in 2018, GAAP became a program of PCCNCF.  

    After PCCNCF’s move in the summer of 2023 to the Springhill area, we partnered with First United Methodist Church (FUMC) in downtown Gainesville to provide easier access for many clients who have limited transportation. FUMC offers ample space to store the program’s pantry items, personal hygiene products, and household supplies, and to prepare and host the weekly lunches. We are thrilled that our new location in FUMC’s fellowship hall is bringing in new clients, increasing accessibility, and enabling us to reach new populations.  

  • GAAP provides clients with a hot meal, fresh bread and pastries, and substantial bags of food from our food pantry, including dry, cold, and frozen foods on a weekly basis. Referrals are given for other HIV and/or AIDS healthcare and social services programs, as well. 

    GAAP currently prepares and serves a to-go meal to 25-30 clients each Tuesday from 8:30am-12pm at First United Methodist Church (419 NE 1st Street, Gainesville). Clients who feel well enough may enjoy the Tuesday meal as a sit-down lunch and opportunity to socialize. 

    GAAP also provides household cleaning supplies and toiletries that clients would not be able to obtain through SNAP or other publicly funded programs. On a rotating schedule, clients can pick up several months’ worth of these essentials during the Tuesday meal.  See the <How you can help> section to learn more.

  • Enrollment in our program is simple and is open to all people living with HIV and/or AIDS. Please bring your Letter of Eligibility or your case worker’s information to our distribution site at FUMC on Tuesdays between 8:30-11:30am. Please arrive at least 30 minutes prior to closing if you are a new client enrolling for the first time.

    On the first day of enrollment, clients will be provided with a hot meal, food pantry items, household cleaning supplies, and toiletries.

  • Donations of essential items  are highly encouraged and go a long way in supporting those in need!

    Donations of the following new, unopened items may be dropped off at the Pride Center (3850 NW 83rd Street, 2nd Floor) Monday through Thursday 9am-8pm and Friday 9am-5pm. 

    For any group interested in holding a drive to collect essentials, we will gladly provide bags with a list of all needed items. Please email your requested number of bags to gaap@gainesvillepride.org.

    • Toilet paper

    • Laundry detergent

    • Bleach

    • Household cleaners

    • Dish detergent

    • Body wash

    • Deodorant

    • Shaving cream

    • Toothpaste

    • Toothbrushes

    • Razors

    • Menstrual products

Help Support Us Financially

Your donation will help increase our program’s outreach and support those living with HIV and AIDS:

  • Expand the types and quantity of household and personal essentials provided.

  • Increase the number of clients served and the number of meals offered per week.

  •  Provide outreach and program scope outside the Gainesville area into greater Alachua County and nearby rural counties.

  • Offer delivery options for homebound clients and those recently discharged from hospitalizations.

  • Purchase appropriate insulated food delivery containers to ensure meals are kept at required food-safe temperatures.

  • Reimburse volunteer drivers for mileage and gas.