Amid pandemic, program helps keep restaurants busy feeding seniors
RIVERVIEW, Fla. - Hillsborough County Aging Services and local restaurants are partnering up in a new program to deliver meals to seniors in need during the pandemic.
Through state funding from the CARES Act, the Silver Platter program has used about 25 restaurants and food trucks over the last three months to serve low-income and disabled seniors who are struggling to put food on their tables during the weekdays.
“Those two meals that I receive every week are very important for me. It makes a difference that I eat that day,” said Regina Walsh of Riverview.
The program also benefits a hard-hit restaurant industry that has struggled with shutdowns and employee layoffs. The food delivery in the community allows the local food spots to prepare meals for the most vulnerable population.
The pilot program began with about 160 seniors this summer and grew to serve about 1,000, helping seniors who can’t travel to a grocery store or live in isolated areas without easy access to fresh food and restaurants.
“Some of them were eating dinner with their family members but when the coronavirus hit, they could no longer do that. They needed to stay home,” said Mary Jo McKay, the Hillsborough County nutrition and wellness manager. “So this allows them to stay home, stay safe and to have a healthy meal.”
Once the meals are ready to go, drivers come and pick them up then travel on their route. And when they arrive, the knocks on the door are not just about receiving a meal. It's also about seeing a friendly face.
“A 30-second conversation, just how are you doing, she checks on me to make sure I’m OK,” said Walsh.
The county also conducts wellness checks on the seniors, so the time with drivers delivering food can sometimes become a lifeline.
“We’ve even had one driver to find one of our seniors in an emergency situation, call 911 and then that individual was hospitalized and released and is now doing well,” said McKay.
With the pilot program underway for the last three months, seniors told FOX 13 they hope it keeps on going.
“I may not eat on a particular day because of the lack of having food, and I know I’m not the only one,” said Walsh. “So, it’s vital to everybody that’s in my position.”
Hillsborough County officials said they recently received more funding for the program through the CARES Act, so they expect to run the program through December.
LINK: www.hillsboroughcounty.org/en/residents/social-services/seniors/senior-meal-services