Even as new treatments increase the duration and quality of life for many HIV-positive people, living with AIDS presents daily challenges. Community Servings addresses one of these concerns: the difficulty of maintaining proper nutrition. Each week Community Servings provides 3500 free hot meals to people with AIDS, 95 percent of whom live at or below the poverty line. Each meal contains 2700 calories and is high in carbs and protein, to bolster compromised systems. And, yes, they deliver.

Thirty years ago next year, Rosie's Place made history by opening as the first women's shelter in the United States. From its humble start in an abandoned grocery store, it grew into an operation that now includes meal programs, an emergency shelter, job training, and a grocery shop for hundreds of women each month. Each year, thanks to Rosie's, 500 woman find shelter, 150 find permanent housing, 50 more avoid eviction, and thousands receive clothes. In a time of social-program budget cuts and economic downturn, Rosie's is a haven and a godsend.

Community Servings, 125 Magazine Street, Roxbury, (617) 445-7777; Rosie's Place, 889 Harrison Avenue, Boston, (617) 442-9322.