Everyone deserves to have access to healthy, filling meals, regardless of their income. Here we list three different meal-service programs for low-income seniors that provide healthy foods and meals to those who need it most.
CSFP
Commodity Supplemental Food Program, or CSFP, is a New York-based nutritional program that supplies people over the age of 60 with free foods. The program provides healthy basic foods, which include:
- Breakfast cereals
- Canned vegetables and fruits
- Canned meats and fish
- Cheese
- Fruit juices
- Peanut butter, dried beans
- Rice, spaghetti, macaroni, whole grain rotini
- UHT and nonfat dry milk
For a full list of available foods, visit here.
CSFP also provides cooking and meal demonstrations, nutrition and health advice from nutritionists, referrals to other food, health, and social services.
To be eligible for CSFP, seniors must be over the age of 60 and must have an income equal or below the incomes guidelines given by the SFP Program Income Eligibility Guidelines for Elderly, found here.
For more information on how to apply for CSFP, visit the Department of Health website here.
Home-Delivered Meals
For low-income seniors who cannot cook or prepare foods for themselves, the Department of Aging (DFTA) funds a free home-delivery services. Seniors have the option to have hot meals delivered daily or have pre-made frozen meals delivered twice a week.
Eligibility is determined on a case by case basis done by a case management service. These services are free, and case management agencies are available in each borough. To find out more about the case management process, visit here. And to find the closest case management agency to you, visit here.
To learn more about home-delivered meals, visit here or call 311.
God’s Love We Deliver
God’s Love We Deliver is a free meal-delivery service for low-income people suffering from life-altering illnesses (such as HIV/AIDS , cancer, alzheimers, etc). God’s Love customizes its meals to fit the person’s dietary restrictions. To learn more, visit their website www.glwd.org/clients/become.
