CITYMEALS ON WHEELS’ PREPARES EMERGENCY FOOD PACKAGES FOR THE HOMEBOUND ELDERLY AHEAD OF AN UNCERTAIN WINTER

Warehouse bustles as special meal packages are prepared
for isolated older New Yorkers at risk for hunger

(October 5, 2021 - New York, NY) -- Today, staff of Citymeals on Wheels were busy packing vital Emergency Food Packages (EFPs) at the organization’s Emergency Meal Distribution Center in the Bronx, in an effort to prepare homebound elderly New Yorkers for the winter months ahead.

The special meal packages will be hand delivered this month to nearly 20,000 Citymeals recipients to ensure they have extra food on hand should winter weather or other emergencies delay regular meal deliveries. Each EFP includes four nutritious, shelf-stable meals, including chicken and salmon, brown rice, vegetable cups, applesauce, oatmeal, and treats like cocoa and low sugar cookies.

“As the pandemic continues into its second winter, making sure our vulnerable older neighbors have nutritious food on hand is absolutely essential,” said Citymeals Executive Director Beth Shapiro. “The 20,000 homebound elderly New Yorkers we serve are the hidden hungry – no longer able to shop, cook or even walk to a food pantry. These special care packages ensure they have food in their cupboards and a nourishing lifeline when they need it.”

Citymeals on Wheels is the largest nonprofit meals on wheels program in the country. It has delivered 4.3 million meals to vulnerable older New Yorkers since the start of the pandemic.         1.2 million of those are nutritious shelf-stable emergency meals from Citymeals’ Emergency Meal Distribution Center in the Bronx.

Working in partnership with community-based organizations and senior centers, Citymeals is now serving nearly 20,000 meal recipients – a 10% increase since the start of the pandemic. One in 10 older New Yorkers was facing food insecurity before the pandemic and that number has only increased. Among Citymeals recipients, 14% live on just the one meal a day the organization delivers. As the city’s reopening efforts continue, the ongoing needs of vulnerable older New Yorkers cannot be overlooked.

Citymeals is the only non-profit focused on delivering nutritious meals to the homebound elderly in all five boroughs. Among those they serve:

• All Citymeals’ recipients are over 60 years old and chronically disabled by conditions such as vision loss, diabetes, arthritis, and heart disease.
• All need assistance with walking: 66% use a cane, 39% use a walker and 16% use a wheelchair.
• More than 60 percent of Citymeals recipients are over 80 years old; 23 percent are over 90 years old; and more than 200 have lived over a century.
• Meal recipients are isolated: the majority live alone, 40 percent rarely or never leave their homes, and 8 percent of meal recipients have no one they can talk to on a regular basis other than their meal deliverer.

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About Citymeals on Wheels

Citymeals on Wheels (citymeals.org) provides a continuous lifeline of nourishing meals and vital companionship to nearly 20,000 homebound elderly New Yorkers. Working in partnership with community-based organizations and senior centers, Citymeals has prepared and delivered over four million weekend, holiday, and emergency meals since the start of the pandemic. Last year, 19,865 volunteers gave more than 82,000 hours of time to Citymeals’ mission.

Since its founding in 1981, Citymeals has relied on the generosity of its Board of Directors, the City of New York, sponsors and other designated gifts to cover administrative costs. This ensures that 100% of all public donations will be used entirely for the preparation and delivery of meals.