Community Partners Come to the Aid of Seniors Facing Food Insecurity

Over the past nine months, the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated food insecurity among local senior citizens, and the Greater Lowell Community Foundation (GLCF) is stepping up to help.

Last spring, as COVID-19 began infecting older adults in high numbers, nonprofit agencies providing support to this demographic — like Minuteman Senior Services (MSS) and Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley & North Shore (ESMV-NS) — were hit hard by another jolt: Most of the volunteers they depended on to distribute meals to their senior clients were seniors themselves.

“Before COVID we had robust Meals on Wheels programs, as well as popular ‘congregate meal’ programs, which allowed people to eat together at their local senior centers,” explained Patti Dubielak, Director of Marketing & Development at MSS, which serves 16 towns, including Bedford, Burlington, Carlisle, Concord, Littleton and Wilmington.

“Once the pandemic hit in March, all our programs were impacted,” said Dubielak. “Plus, we lost about 60 percent of our volunteers because they were from high-risk groups, too.”

Compounding the situation is the fact that food insecurity among older people continues to grow, added Jennifer Raymond, Chief Strategy Officer of ESMV-NS, which serves seniors in 28 communities, including Billerica, Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Lowell, Tewksbury, Tynsgboro and Westford. 

“Hunger among seniors is not new, but COVID has shined a light on the problem in a much more visible way,” said Raymond. “We’ve seen a 30- to 35-percent increase in the numbers we are feeding.”

Realizing these unforeseen forces were having a profound impact on elder health, last spring and summer GLCF distributed two COVID-19 Relief Fund Grants each to MSS and ESMV-NS, two nonprofits that support seniors in 14 of the 20 communities in the foundation’s service area.

The spring and summer grants were distributed by GLCF from the Massachusetts COVID-19 Relief Fund. Massachusetts COVID-19 Relief Fund supported those across the state most impacted by the COVID-19 health crisis, focused on essential frontline workers and vulnerable populations including the homeless, immigrant populations, people with disabilities, and those facing food insecurity. The fund worked in concert with regional community foundations and nonprofit leaders who partner with local leaders to understand the response and relief landscape, strategically filling in where gaps are pronounced.

And in November, GLCF continued addressing food insecurity among seniors by awarding another round of grants to both nonprofits from the foundation’s own COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund.  

“Food insecurity was a major focus of the Massachusetts COVID-19 Relief Fund, and we realized elder-food insecurity was a growing concern,” said Jennifer Aradhya, GLCF Vice President of Marketing & Programs.

“Communicating with local Councils on Aging gave us a solid understanding of the situation, as well as a strategy for a funding solution that would have the most impact. Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley & North Shore, and Minuteman Senior Services support more than 1,000 food-insecure seniors in 14 of our communities. Partnering with these two nonprofits made perfect sense.”

Once the pandemic lockdown began, both nonprofits had to quickly shift staff to work remotely, as well as (virtually) train a new crop of younger volunteers. With funding assistance from GLCF, group meals at senior centers were converted to “grab and go” sites, which allowed seniors to pick up meals and safely eat them at home. Both organizations adopted new “contactless” delivery protocols for their Meals on Wheels programs, and made other innovations.

“Grant funding from the Greater Lowell Community Foundation is helping us keep older adults safely in their homes during the pandemic,” said Kelly Magee Wright, Executive Director of Minuteman Senior Services. “In addition to our daily Meals on Wheels delivery of a hot lunch, we are also delivering seven-day frozen meals packs, and grocery-store gift cards to seniors at risk of food insecurity.”

ESMV-NS is also using some of its GLCF funding to pilot a food shopping/delivery program for at-risk seniors, according to Raymond. “We learned that some consumers had additional nutritional needs beyond what could be addressed through standard Meals on Wheels,” she explained.

“This funding from GLCF allowed us to launch and continue a grocery store shopping-and- delivery program for people who are facing food insecurity, but may not have the transportation or other resources to shop for the special dietary items they need,” she said.

“Our seniors are especially vulnerable to serious complications from the COVID-19 virus, and is seeing food insecurity at much higher numbers,” said Jay Linnehan, GLCF President & CEO. “These nonprofit partners have been very diligent and innovative in their approach to continuing services to Greater Lowell elders, while adapting to new safety rules. We are so grateful to them.”

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Written by Kathy Register