It’s a little bit paying it forward. 

After almost three months, Rebecca knows her way around this grocery store. “I could do it with my eyes closed at this point,” she says.

It helps that the person she’s shopping for always sends her with a list, one that doesn’t change much from week to week. At 90 years old, Grace knows what she likes. She always asks for fresh fruit — particularly bananas and grapes — but she also has a sweet tooth. “There’s a particular lemon cookie that she likes,” says Rebecca. “She also likes cornbread and hot chocolate.”

Rebecca is a volunteer for Citymeals’ new Shopping Assistance program. The program pairs meal recipients like Grace, who struggle to leave their homes, with a volunteer who can help them shop. Recipients also receive vouchers — $80 a month — to help them afford the extra groceries.

With 65% of Citymeals’ recipients living on $15,000 a year or less, the additional food helps reduce the very real threat of food insecurity. The most purchased items are meat and fish, fresh produce and pantry stables like rice, cereal and cooking oil. “This program also allows us to buy things like toilet paper and paper towels,” Rebecca explains. “Money goes so quickly in a grocery store.”

Originally from Louisiana, Rebecca moved to New York to be closer to her son and his family. Since she retired, she’s spent her time volunteering, specifically at Heights and Hills in Brooklyn, her local older adult center, which partners with Citymeals. “Part of feeling like this is home is being connected to my neighbors,” she says.

When she heard about the new Shopping Assistance program, she thought it sounded like a great opportunity to do something for her older neighbors. She was matched with Grace and the two have grown close. “She’s just a ray of sunshine,” says Rebecca. “She has such a great sense of humor and a wonderful perspective.”

Grace has been in the same apartment since she immigrated from Trinidad in 1985. “I’ve never moved,” she says. Because she can’t leave the building without help, she spends most of her time in that very apartment, usually doing jigsaw puzzles. When she’s finished with the bigger ones, she glues them down and has them framed. Since she started the Shopping Assistance program, Grace has enjoyed Rebecca’s visits. She finds her face to be a comforting one. “She looks like my mom,” says Grace. “I have a picture that looks just like her.”

When it comes to the grocery deliveries, she especially appreciates the choice the program gives her. “It helps because you can pick what you want,” she says.

While this iteration of the program only ran for a few months, Rebecca is looking forward to volunteering in the next cohort. “It’s a little bit paying it forward,” she says. “I’ll be 75 soon and so, the things that I’m currently able to do, I may not be able to do forever.”