Nearly 9,000 meals delivered to seniors in first week of expanded service

Expanded home delivery program has helped 1,200 additional seniors secure food

(Gloucester Township, NJ) – The Camden County Division of Senior and Disabled Services has delivered nearly 9,000 meals to seniors in need since March 18 as part of an expanded, unprecedented effort to ensure that no senior goes hungry during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. On Wednesday alone, more than 1,900 individual meals were delivered throughout the county.

Last week, all residents previously enrolled in one of the county’s senior meal or dialysis transport programs, equal to roughly 500 residents, automatically began receiving home-delivery of meals. Simultaneously, the Division opened the program to all seniors in need of meals for any reason. More than 1,200 additional seniors have since received meal delivery directly to their homes.

“No Camden County senior will go hungry because they are unable to cook or afraid to go to the grocery store, we will not allow that to happen,” said Freeholder Jonathan Young. “Our team is making hundreds of individual deliveries a day to make sure that our seniors have the resources they need during this crisis. We have increased our storage capacity, and we are in constant contact with providers to make sure that there is a stock readily available if our numbers continue to increase. If you are a senior and are at risk of going hungry, please call us. We will make sure that you are taken care of.”

Most clients will receive seven meals once per week, while others receive meals each day. Drop-offs are performed one day per week and vary by town.

“I can’t say enough about the work of the employees in the division of Senior Services, Public Works, Parks, Building and Ops, and other county employees getting this job done. I can’t possibly thank these public servants enough for their work,” Young continued. “This has been a yeoman’s effort to expand our services and feed this many people, but given the circumstances we will continue to be a safety net and foundational source for our residents,”

If you or a senior you know needs meal assistance, please call (856) 374-MEAL or (856) 858-3220 to make arrangements.

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