ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — Every weekday, nearly 30 seniors come to the Crystal Lakes Manor community center to receive a free hot meal and connect with other seniors in the community.
About 120 pre-packaged free meals are delivered from there by volunteers to homebound seniors.
Neighborly has been serving the community for more than six decades, providing over 629,000 meals to seniors in need.
The organization says more older adults are now turning to them for help as the cost-of-living increases.
“I think also letting your older neighbors know or if you have family that you know, you are affected by this, the shutdown or that needs socialization or that need meals, please know that neighborly is a resource in the community, and they can always reach out,” said Neighborly nutrition director Anita Frankhauser.
With the government shutdown now affecting SNAP benefits, Frankhauser tells us they’re helping compensate for that need, too.
“So, we’ve let our clients know that we can give them extra meals to help tie things over, because they know Snap benefits are not being distributed or won’t be distributed. This is affecting about 25% of all our clients in the area,” said Frankhauser.
Joanna Deacon has been coming here for meals for four years and says staying connected with others in the community is vital.
“Well, you know, there’s a lot of older people that are lonely, and this helps with that. You know, people get to fellowship. People get to play games. We have birthday parties. We have, dress up parties, and people really like that, and they appreciate it,” said senior Joanna Deacon.
She says the need for food for some here is critical.
“Well, for some people, sadly to say, this might be the only meal they get a day. So, this is very important to our neighborhood, to the people around us,” said Deacon.
Despite the program going into overdrive to ensure no seniors go hungry right now, leaders with Neighborly say they’re feeling the squeeze and in need of help to keep running efficiently.
“I would say volunteers and community support. We’re always looking for people who can deliver and who can donate to us so that we can continue this vital work in the community,” said Frankhauser.
There’s a total of 11 Neighborly sites in Pinellas County, with eight of them offering in-person meets for seniors. Visit here for more information.
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