The Citymeals Blog

A year ago, during last Older Americans Month, Citymeals shared our research and recommendations on hunger among older New Yorkers. The results were startling: Over half of the older adults we spoke to reported experiencing food insecurity in the past year. Among those already receiving home-delivered meals, that number increased to 60 percent.  

The nutritional needs of the city’s most vulnerable residents — the homebound elderly — are simply not being met. While older adults currently make up 17 percent of the city’s population, the Department for the Aging only accounts for less than one percent of New York City’s budget. It’s a crisis that will only become more dire as our population continues to age. 

Citymeals is here to fill in the gaps, like we have since our founding. In response to these findings, we launched several new pilots and expanded existing programs to bring more food to more people.  

Over half of the older adults we spoke with said that home-delivered meal programs should provide two or more meals a day. In response, Citymeals launched our new Breakfast Box program last fall. It delivers 30 days’ worth of second meals to nearly 2,000 recipients. These boxes, delivered monthly, are packed with morning staples like oatmeal, milk and eggs, as well as seven pounds of fresh produce and four frozen meals.  

“I eat breakfast every day,” says Carol, 84, one of our recipients. “When the breakfast started coming, that was wonderful because those are the things that I buy.” Those receiving the Breakfast Box say that it saves them an average of $60 a month. That’s money that can go towards other essentials, like rent and medication. Over 90% say they worry less about grocery shopping.  

We’ve also expanded our Mobile Grocery program to all five boroughs. Each delivery includes fresh produce and nine meals’ worth of food. And we’re piloting an 18-meal version in the Bronx to reach those with the greatest need.  

To further relieve our recipients of the burden of grocery shopping, our new Shop and Assist program addresses both access and affordability. Older adults are paired with volunteers, who can escort them to and from the store, help them carry items home and put them away. We’re also piloting a shopping credit, which provides our most food-insecure recipients with $80 a month to use toward groceries of their choice.  

But people need more than just food — they need connection. Our new connectivity programs offer just that. From Social Calls, which connects homebound recipients with volunteers over the phone, to our partnerships with Life Story Club and the ¡Oye! Group, these programs seek to bring older New Yorkers together to build community and combat social isolation.  

During these uncertain times, this work is more vital than ever. Essential benefits like SNAP, Medicaid, and Social Security — services our recipients rely on and have paid into — are at risk. Even the loss of $50 in food stamps a month can be the difference between a meal and going hungry. We can’t allow that to happen.  

Citymeals stands ready to do our part, continuing to be a lifeline for older New Yorkers who can no longer shop and cook for themselves. But we can’t do it alone. With your support, we are still determined to end elder hunger in New York City by 2040.