The Citymeals Blog

By 2040, our city's senior population will grow by 40%. And even sooner, older New Yorkers will outnumber school-aged children for the first time in history. For me, and the dedicated staff at Citymeals, these numbers can feel daunting. It’s not easy to prepare for the future – as we all know.

Despite the challenges we face, this last fiscal year saw two big reasons to celebrate: the delivery of our 60 millionth meal and the opening of the Joan & Bob Tisch Emergency Meal Distribution Center. More than just milestones, these achievements illustrate how our supporters are helping Citymeals prepare to meet the growing need in the years ahead.

Meanwhile, together, we’re transforming the lives of our frail aged neighbors each day – people like 80-year-old Dorothy, whose life was saved by her meal deliverer. I delivered our 60 millionth meal to her myself and hope you’ll read her story and more in our Fiscal Year 2019 report to see how your help makes a difference.

Do you look to the numbers to see success? Well, last year, Citymeals delivered 2,086,252 meals to frail aged New Yorkers on weekends, holidays and in times of emergency – that’s 40% of all meals delivered in the city. We also continued our focus on combating hunger, delivering 46,567 supplemental meals with our Mobile Food Pantry – double what we provided last year. For the many meal recipients we know are living on just the one meal a day we deliver, these additional meals are nothing less than essential.

From our earliest days, Citymeals has been about neighbors helping neighbors. Today we have one of the largest volunteer programs in New York City and it continues to grow. Last year, we saw a 13% increase in volunteers with over 26,000 caring individuals delivering meals and making meaningful connections with their older neighbors.

Let me say once more thank you. You help guarantee Citymeals can fulfill our vital mission and continue to grow as one big, generous family.