Chef Alex Reyes of Café SFA Cooks and Delivers
Meals to Homebound Elderly New Yorkers

(July 12, 2016 – New York, NY) – Homebound elderly in Midtown Manhattan were delighted when Chef Alex Reyes of Café SFA showed up at their front doors to deliver a special meal as part of the Chefs Deliver for Citymeals program.

A Citymeals on Wheels initiative, Chefs Deliver brings together a rotating cast of culinary stars who, once a month, lend their talents to Citymeals – cooking and often personally delivering the meals to the doors of New Yorkers who are too frail to shop and cook for themselves. Chefs Deliver was launched in January 2014 by Citymeals Board of Directors Co-President Chef Daniel Boulud and Citymeals Board Member Chef Charlie Palmer.

For today's Citymeals delivery, Chef Reyes cooked up beef ragout, garganelli pasta, and grilled squash. He then personally delivered some of the meals to isolated older New Yorkers living in Midtown. He was joined by Vivienne O’Neill, Director of Volunteer Programs at Citymeals.  The remainder of the 150 meals was delivered to Citymeals recipients throughout Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst.

"The summer months usually bring people together – whether for a trip to the beach, a barbecue or just to spend time with family and friends – but our recipients are unable to leave their homes to enjoy these simple pleasures. Our meal deliverers are often the only person our frail aged neighbors see all day," noted Beth Shapiro, Executive Director of Citymeals. "It's so important that we make sure isolated older New Yorkers know they are not forgotten. Thank you to Chef Reyes and Café SFA for participating in this month’s delivery."

Citymeals on Wheels prepares and delivers weekend, holiday and emergency meals for over 18,000 homebound elderly New Yorkers. More than 60 percent of Citymeals recipients are over 80 years old; 23 percent are over 90; more than 200 have lived at least a century. All recipients are chronically disabled by conditions such as vision loss, diabetes, arthritis and heart disease. Nearly all need assistance walking. It is estimated that 66 percent use a cane, 39 percent use a walker and 16 percent use a wheelchair. Citymeals recipients are also isolated: 57 percent live alone; 40 percent rarely or never leave their homes; 8 percent have no one with whom they can talk. Many are also at risk for malnutrition.

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About Citymeals on Wheels: Citymeals on Wheels (citymeals.org) provides a continuous lifeline of nourishing meals and vital companionship to New York City’s homebound elderly. Working in partnership with community-based organizations and senior centers, Citymeals prepares and delivers over 2 million weekend, holiday and emergency meals for more than 18,000 of our frail aged neighbors each year. Last year, over 15,000 individuals volunteered nearly 69,000 hours of their time.

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.