FAMISHED
BY BEN VERDE
They need a jump start!
Services that deliver meals
to homebound seniwors have
seen a spike in demand under
the state’s stay-at-home order,
as elderly New Yorkers seek
safe ways to stay fed without
venturing outside. But, with
limited resources and no increase
in funding on the horizon,
it is getting increasingly
diffi cult for many to meet demand.
“We’ve seen close to a 20
percent increase in the past
seven weeks,” Todd Fliedner,
deputy executive director
of the Bay Ridge Center
told Brooklyn Paper. “This is
a trend we just see as continuing.”
Programs like Fliender’s
often held congregate meals
in senior centers prior to the
coronavirus pandemic, but
have shifted to delivery-only
online
com
7070
Order bellyfulnyc.252-Pickup
718-& @now Delivery Call Free COURIER L 6 IFE, MAY 15-21, 2020
as those they serve hunker
down inside — many of whom
were offered a citywide meal
service run by the Department
of Aging. But, program
directors say, many of the
city’s seniors prefer the local,
non-profi t run meal services,
because they fi nd their
specifi c dietary needs are met
and deliveries are more reliable.
To boot, seniors who
switched over to the citywide
service in the early days of the
stay-at-home order reported
poor communication, a lack
of coordination, and low-quality
meals. Some seniors who
signed up for the program
never received meals at all,
according to Scott Short, CEO
of RiseBoro Community Partnerships,
a home-delivered
meal provider in Bushwick.
“The quality of the meals
that they were getting was really
below the standards of
what we fi nd acceptable,” said
Short.
The shortcomings of the
citywide program have exacerbated
demand among the
smaller community programs,
according to the head of Rise-
Boro, who has seen a nearly
30 percent increase in deliveries
since the pandemic began.
The program currently services
about 1,800 people, Short
said — a combination of both
new clients, and those who are
not receiving their mealsfrom
the city.
Despite the increased demand,
programs like RiseBoro
and the Bay Ridge Center are
operating with the same fl at
level of funding from the city
as in pre-pandemic times, and
are pushing for emergency
funding from the Department
of Aging.
The Bay Ridge Center has
had to hire more staff, add a
delivery route, and purchase
more food than usual, according
to Fliedner. Scott says Rise-
Boro, which is also increasing
its food production and providing
its workers with time-anda
half hazard pay, will only be
able to operate at its current
rate without emergency funding
until the end of its fi scal
year on June 30.
In a letter to Department
of Aging Commissioner Lorraine
Cortés-Vázquez, Manhattan
Councilwoman Margaret
Chin, chair of the Council’s
Committee on Aging, laid out
a demand of $26.2 million in
funding for home-delivered
meal programs, which Chin
says is necessary to keep the
programs from failing.
The department has not indicated
yet whether it will be
able to provide the emergency
funds.
“We are in receipt of Councilmember
Chin’s letter and
are reviewing,” said department
spokesperson Suzanne
Myklebust. “Providing food
assistance to New Yorkers
during Covid-19 is a high priority
for the city.”
In the meantime,, meal providers
are refl ecting on their
relationship with the city —
something, Scott said, has
been problematic for years before
the pandemic.
“I think COVID has helped
shine a light on this problem,”
Scott said. “But it’s really a
more endemic problem that
goes back years.”
Staffers at RiseBoro packing meals for deliveries. RiseBoro
Meal delivery programs see spike
in demand, fl at rate of funding
“Where Culture Meets Taste”
Lunch, Dinner, Family Packages
@DISCOUNTED PRICES
������������������������������������������
EAT HEALTHY
Bellyful’s commitment to our Communities
and Culture continues with our service and
timeless recipes. We guarantee that your
tastebuds will come alive from dishes infused
with fl avors from the Caribbean.
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK
����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
����������������������������������������������������������������������������
Cocktails
TO GO