The door-to-door meal delivery program was a lifeline for many seniors during the pandemic, as they were at risk of infection in crowded places.
“Since I’m older, for the pandemic they took me everything home,” recalls Epi Pacheco, an elderly resident.
Abelardo delivers between 2,000 and 2,500 meals a day and says that 30 percent of the benefited population is Hispanic.
“The most vulnerable people that New York City has who have recently come out of a hospital, or a home, who can’t fend for themselves, who can’t cook, we provide these meals, they’re shelf stable that they can stay in a cupboard for a long time and we also bring them hot food and frozen food for the whole week,” says Abelardo Martínez, a meal delivery man for the elderly.
But the Eric Adams administration announced it will cut $12 million for this program starting in fiscal year 2024 and nearly $6 million for each of the next three years. Which means that people like Epi Pacheco will have to fend for themselves.
“Those of us who suffer are the elderly and we can’t do anything, nobody can do anything, they do what they want,” continues Pacheco.
This announcement comes just as the 65+ segment of the population is growing and one in five New Yorkers is in their senior years, according to the Urban Future Center. At least 233 older adults who meet the requirements are waiting for this service and another 955 aspire to meet the requirements.
The elderly population has increased by more than 363,000 over the past decade in New York alone, according to the Center for Urban Future, which also reported that poverty among the elderly, especially those of immigrants and those of color, is increasing.
2023-05-23 00:25:08
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