In a new partnership with Cayuga Health, Foodnet Meals on Wheels will begin hosting weekly Community Dining lunches in the Shops at Ithaca Mall.
The program is funded by and part of the Tompkins County Office for the Aging and the New York State Office for the Aging’s Senior Nutrition Program, which is operated by Foodnet and seeks to provide seniors with meals and nutrition education. The first of the new events was held Oct. 23, with subsequent lunches each Thursday.
Foodnet Meals on Wheels, which delivers meals to the doors of clients, supports homebound adults through nutritious meals and care. This partnership, however, seeks to extend that same commitment to unhoused community members over 60 years of age by creating a place where individuals can receive food free of charge at a central community location.
“We've been in partnership with Cayuga Health for a while because we're working on the same trajectory,” said Aly Evans, executive director of Foodnet Meals on Wheels. “That is, keeping people healthy, making sure that they age in place, that they can age with dignity and grace and have the food that they need to be healthy.”
Doors will open for socialization at 11 a.m. for the new weekly lunches, with meals served from noon to 12:30 p.m. There is no fee to participate — however, voluntary and confidential contributions are encouraged to help keep the program sustainable.
The Ithaca Mall location marks the third community dining site in Tompkins County, alongside locations at Titus Towers, which runs Monday through Friday, and in Slaterville Springs at the Slaterville Volunteer Fire Company on Tuesdays.
“We are thrilled with the opening of an additional site offering the opportunity for community members to connect and socialize while enjoying a meal together,” wrote Lisa Monroe, director of the Tompkins County Office for the Aging, to The Sun. “The goal of the Office for the Aging’s Senior Nutrition Program is to promote wellness through social engagement, educational programming, recreational opportunities, and, of course, healthy, and nutritious meals.”
The food itself is cooked from scratch in Foodnet’s kitchen on Triphammer Road, and is made and delivered to the dining site by Tompkins community volunteers.
There are no financial requirements for these community lunches — eligibility is based solely on age.
“[Visitors] really would benefit from connection with people in a social setting,” said Lara Parilla, co-director of the Cornell Center for Health Equity and director of Health Equity for Cayuga Health. “It's an opportunity to have a healthy meal, talk to peers and also learn from different organizations that come in and make presentations and do educational activities.”
This in-person interaction is especially important as social isolation has become one of the largest public health epidemics, according to Evans.
“[These lunches will] help alleviate loneliness, which can lead to depression and substance abuse or just poor social determinants of health,” Evans said. “The important part of all this is making sure that we're providing people food and friends, so that they can be healthy and engaged in their lives.”
Data from Foodnet found that 68 percent of their clients live alone, and a COFA survey found that over one in 10 of the people who responded said they don't have enough food to eat.
“These statistics are alarming,” Evans said. “These are adults. These are seniors who have literally built our world, and they're worried they don't have enough to eat. That's why we do what we do.”
This partnership will also create volunteer opportunities for locals and Cornell students alike, with Foodnet tabling at the mall in the coming weeks to recruit volunteers to assist with setup and post-lunch cleanup.
“We cannot do it alone. We have to work with our partners in our communities to meet the needs of seniors or anybody,” Evans said. “If we can work on making sure that there are supports that give us the ability to age in place with dignity, and let everyone live their life when they're aging, then it's going to be better for all of us.”
