A significant portion of the people we serve as your local food bank are seniors. Seniors can often have a more difficult time accessing the food they need due to factors such as limited finances or chronic health conditions.
One way we prioritize serving seniors is by working with numerous food pantry and meal program partners to provide food items tailored to the needs of the senior population.
Some of these partners work to provide easier access to food by eliminating the barrier of transportation and delivering food right to the doors of seniors in need.
Others provide hot meals on a consistent basis so that seniors who have difficulty navigating a kitchen can gather with their community to share food together.
Our Mobile Food Pantries are also an incredibly important program for distributing food to seniors. If someone is able to drive, all they have to do is show up and the food will be placed directly into their vehicles, and is provided at no cost. This way, if someone has difficulty with mobility or lifting heavier items, volunteers are there to transfer the food for them.
The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) is another way we help support seniors. CSFP is a federal food assistance program that works to improve the health of low-income individuals at least 60 years of age by supplementing their diets with nutritious USDA foods. As the food bank, we help distribute these boxes of shelf-stable foods to seniors in need in collaboration with our partners.
We envision a community in which all neighbors are nourished and empowered within an equitable food system. Because of this, we understand how necessary it is to address the needs of seniors in our service area in order to make that vision a reality.