EngAGE is celebrating Thanksgiving all month!
EngAGE is thankful for our wonderful food delivery partners who provide a vital service made even more significant during the pandemic. Laura Sardisco, Orange County Food Program Coordinator/Long Beach Senior Arts Colony Social Services Coordinator reports:
2020 has been a year of uncertainty, bringing emotional and physical challenges to all of us. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and self-quarantine, we have seen a roughly 280% increase in demand for food. Our partners in Orange County really stepped up to help us ensure that our residents had enough to eat during these difficult times.
We are grateful for our long-standing partnerships with Orange County Food Bank and Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, both of which sprang into action to serve more residents at Cotton’s Point, Coventry Court, Dorado, Grove, Jasmine, and Long Beach Senior Arts Colony senior apartment communities in Orange County and Long Beach, CA, helping them stay healthy with good and nutritious food.
We are also thankful for World Central Kitchen which stepped in to meet the increased need at Long Beach Senior Arts Colony in a way that no other organization could. World Central Kitchen came up with the novel idea to partner with local restaurants, such as Lola’s Mexican Cuisine and The Ordinarie, to provide individually packaged, fresh meals. They were delivered to residents’ doors every week, so that they didn’t have to venture outside. The program both provides restaurant workers and drivers with work, and the residents with delicious food.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were providing supplemental food resources to roughly 200 residents. At the start of the pandemic, this increased to almost 900 people practically overnight. Yet through our partnerships with Orange County Food Bank, Second Harvest, and World Central Kitchen, we have been able to provide residents with the equivalent of over 25,000 meals per month!
Our wonderful partners deliver not only food, but also hope. While delivering the weekly meals provided by World Central Kitchen at Long Beach Senior Arts Colony, a resident told me, “These meals each week are so delicious and give me something to look forward to. No matter what else happens during the week, at least I know that I’m going to have a delicious lunch on Thursday.” At Cotton’s Point, one resident told us: “Thank you for bringing me hope, because hope never dies.”
