Senior News Line: Mobile food pantry visits senior housing

I recently learned a few things about my local food bank that I didn’t know. Maybe your food bank has these services, as well.

The local food bank has a mobile pantry that goes to the senior housing building once a month for seniors who can’t get out to the regular weekly location.

While they don’t carry a large variety on the van, they do have some of most everything, including canned and boxed foods, coffee and tea, some meats in a small freezer, dairy and bread.

They’ve just started home delivery in the area, right in time for winter. For this a senior needs to sign up in advance and have their doctor sign a form saying yes, they could benefit from having food delivered instead of having to go out on icy roads to make a pickup.

The sign-up form also has a place to list any allergies and preferences, so the box of food is a bit customized.

Our local food bank isn’t the only one in the area. Churches and towns sometimes have their own.

See www.gsfb.org/food-map and put in your ZIP code for locations near you. In my area I discovered six additional food bank locations I knew nothing about.

Look into the senior food box program. Once a month, participants in the program have a box of food delivered.

Find contact and income eligibility information by doing an internet search for the Commodity Supplemental Food Program in your state.

Then there is Meals on Wheels, where prepared food is delivered to seniors who have trouble cooking for themselves. They often have low sodium and diabetic meal options.

Depending on your location, there might be a small fee for the meals.

If you need food, don’t give up. It’s out there and you can find it. There are more food sources than you might imagine.