Citymeals-on-Wheels is gearing up to make sure seniors are fed in any emergency, delivering backup food packages to thousands of senior citizens.
In the days after the Twin Towers attacks, the organization scrambled to feed more than 700 seniors who could not be evacuated from lower Manhattan, recruiting restaurants and volunteers to cater to the homebound elderly.
But now, emergency boxes of shelf-stable pantry items – previously delivered once a year – will be delivered three times a year to 1,000 of the city’s elderly who have been identified as most at risk for malnutrition.
“It was clear that our seniors throughout the city did not have a reliable supply of food on hand and were not prepared for emergencies,” said Marcia Stein, executive director of Citymeals-on-Wheels.
“We are implementing an expanded Emergency Pantry Project to assure that these frail, homebound elderly have a lifeline even during times of crisis.”
Each of the 42-pound boxes contains enough canned and non-perishable food for 12 meals.
An additional 13,000 elderly New Yorkers will get smaller, three-meal boxes twice a year, beginning in March.
Special gadgets will be provided for people who have trouble opening cans or other containers, and each box will contain emergency contact numbers for senior services such as Social Security and heat hot lines.