A New Bedford program that delivers free foodbank groceries to older adults each week is poised to more than double in size this summer thanks to growing interest and new funding.
The news is welcome as food insecurity grows and SNAP benefits face cuts, increasing pressure on low-income older adults who already face barriers to accessing food.
The PACE Senior Delivery program serves low-income adults over 65 who have trouble accessing food on their own. Run out of PACE’s Food Center at 477 Park St. in New Bedford, it currently reaches 121 people, with about 80 more on a waiting list as of early April.
“It caters to those over 65 in our community who are usually single, living alone, and low income,” said Brooke L’Etoile, PACE’s Health & Food Access Director.
Residents in the Greater New Bedford area including New Bedford, Dartmouth, Marion, Rochester, Mattapoisett, Fairhaven, and Acushnet may participate.
It works simply. Each week, staff call participants and walk them through whatever is available in the pantry — vegetables, canned goods, meats, yogurt, staples — and let them choose what they need.
“Essentially, we call them and we give them all the options that are here in the pantry over the phone and they pick out what they like, just like if they were to come here to shop, so that way they can still have a choice,” L’Etoile said.
Then everything gets bagged up and delivered to their door.
For Madelyn Gregory, a New Bedford resident who receives weekly deliveries, the program stretches her SNAP benefits and fills in the gaps.
“It gives me the basics especially when I can’t go get them,” she said. “I especially appreciate the fresh produce. It might be just a little, but it’s plenty for me.”
She’s been at it long enough that the relationship feels personal. “They call me every week,” she said. “They know me by name and I know most of them by name.”
That personal connection is something program manager Stefani Rodriguez takes seriously. Her weekly calls with participants can sometimes run 30 minutes or more.
“I just think it’s great connecting one-on-one with them. I even stay on the phone with them for a couple of minutes just to talk about how they’re doing. A lot of the ladies like telling me what they do throughout the day,” she said. “I feel like they appreciate that because they don’t get to talk to a lot of people who are willing to listen to them.”
Rodriguez hears firsthand how much the deliveries matter. “A lot of the ladies aren’t able to leave the house and a lot of the food benefits, their food stamp benefits, were cut short, so they really didn’t have enough to make it stretch for the whole month,” she said. “Some of them also have custody of their grandchildren and this has helped them a lot. We do send those ladies extra food because they have their kids with them.”
The program began serving women through funding from the New Bedford-based Association for the Relief of Aged Women. New funding from Sailors’ Snug Harbour of Boston, has allowed them to include men and expand participation.
This summer’s expansion will immediately bring the total served to around 200, absorbing the current waiting list with L’Etoile expecting the number could reach as high as 400 or beyond. A newly purchased refrigerated van will allow more cold food deliveries during warm months, something previously out of reach when the program contracted out its deliveries.
L’Etoile sees the growth as an opening to do even more. Each weekly call, she hopes, will eventually work like informal case management, asking participants about dietary needs, household essentials, whatever else they might need brought to their door.
“We’re going to personalize it, almost like a one-on-one conversation with them every week to see if there’s something else we can help out with,” she said. “We’ll ask them, ‘Are there other things that we can get you that you might need and deliver that as well?’”
Also underway is a move to expand the volunteers who bag orders, load vehicles and deliver groceries.
Older adults interested in being in the program can call PACE at 508-999-9920, Ext. 348. Anyone interested in volunteering can apply online at www.paceinfo.org. The Food Center also accepts donations and is often in need of plastic shopping bags.
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