As holidays approach, demand for food hits new record

As they face rising demand for food, organizers of local senior nutrition programs say they’re committed to meeting the need and making the holidays special — even if socially distanced — for those who depend on them.

Instead of its traditional music-filled Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year’s gatherings inside a festive dining hall, Palo Alto’s La Comida is distributing freshly prepared, boxed meals from an outdoor table.

Recipients have to stand in line for the daily takeout distribution, but special menus — including brisket, latkes and turkey — will be offered for the holidays. Volunteer masked musicians Jena Rauti and Gary Breitbard often stop by to liven up the scene with background music.

“Demand (for the hot meals) has gone up significantly” since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Bill Blodgett, La Comida board co-president and longtime volunteer, said. The agency currently is serving as many as 250 meals per day at two locations, up from about 160 per day a year ago. The 390 meals served last month for Thanksgiving were a single-day record in the agency’s 48-year history, Blodgett said.

More than 1,200 homebound seniors get meals delivered to their doorsteps several days per week by Menlo Park-based Peninsula Volunteers, Inc., which operates Meals on Wheels for much of San Mateo County, including East Palo Alto and Menlo Park.

The average number of meals delivered per month jumped from 13,837 to 15,450 from last year’s third quarter to this year’s, the agency said.

Turkey with all the trimmings is on the Christmas menu. Peninsula Volunteers is also seeking donations of small gifts to place inside the packages with the meals.

“We’ve had to get creative on our programming,” Peninsula Volunteers CEO Peter Olson said.

To reduce client exposure, Meals on Wheels comes only three days per week — with multiple meals — instead of the usual five days. Staff and volunteers must disinfect hands before and after each home delivery.

“We make wellness calls on days clients do not receive a meal delivery to assess each client’s well-being on a regular basis while also helping to reduce their feelings of isolation and to provide additional resources where needed,” Rebecca Matteson Nelsonsaid Peninsula Volunteers development director, said.

Peninsula Volunteers, which also operates the Little House senior center, the adult-day program Rosener House and senior transportation services, has substantially altered its other programs in response to the pandemic.

Rosener House, which serves adults with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, and Little House have closed their doors to the public and are offering classes by Zoom. The agency continues to offer transportation services for medical, dental and grocery visits.

Olson said data from the 2010 Census indicates “there are an estimated 16,000 seniors in San Mateo County suffering from food insecurity.

“We’re serving 1,200 individuals (with a waiting list of 266) and we’d like to serve more, but fundraising is critical for any type of expansion,” he said. “It takes support from the community.”

While some of the volunteer drivers for Meals on Wheels had to withdraw because of the pandemic, the agency has “received an outpouring of community support and interest from new volunteers,” Nelson said.

It’s a different story at La Comida in Palo Alto. A shortage of volunteers “has been one of our greatest challenges during the pandemic,” Blodgett said. “Most of our volunteers are seniors, so understandably many are sheltering at home and not volunteering.

“We definitely need more volunteers Monday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. ’til 12:30. We need volunteers year-round, not just at the holidays.”

Extra funding from Santa Clara County covered additional La Comida meals from July through October, Blodgett said. “We are hopeful that there will be additional county funding to cover the higher meal volume through the rest of the year but we will have to wait and see on that. In any case La Comida is committed to fully meeting the demand for senior meals throughout the pandemic period,” he said.

For more information on La Comida, go to lacomida.org or email manager@lacomida.org.

For more information about Peninsula Volunteers, go to penvol.org.

Find comprehensive coverage on the Midpeninsula’s response to the new coronavirus by Palo Alto Online, the Mountain View Voice and the Almanac here.