Monday, June 28, 2021 | 2 a.m.
Three Square Food Bank is focusing on getting senior citizens out of the house to get groceries and meals after the pandemic kept many homebound last year.
“We know that when you provide home-delivered groceries, it's harder to have client choice and the dignity of picking out the foods you like to eat,” said Jodi Tyson, vice president for strategic initiatives for Three Square.
Getting out of the house and socializing also has a positive impact on people’s mental health, Tyson said.
Three Square entered into a partnership with Lyft earlier this year to pick up seniors at their homes and take them to a food pantry or grocery store.
About 100 seniors are part of a grant-funded transportation program that Three Square offers through 10 partner agencies, including Lyft.
Three Square also pays to transport seniors to afternoon meals during the week at New Beginnings Ministries in North Las Vegas.
The church already had a van to transport people to Sunday services.
“We actually said, ‘How about if you put that van to use every day and we give you some transportation money for fuel and for a driver,’” Tyson said.
Three Square anticipates spending $30,000 on transportation partnerships, said Rosa Martinez, public relations coordinator for Three Square.
The group gets state and federal funds through the Nevada Aging and Disability Services Division and recently received a large anonymous donation, officials said.
Three Square operates a number of pantries specifically for seniors and offers foods for people with dietary restrictions, such as low-sodium items for people with heart disease and seedless foods for those with digestive issues.
“We know that seniors have a higher risk for chronic disease, and so we wanted to make sure that this food was really sensitive to the nutritional needs of seniors,” Tyson said.
About 9,000 people 60 or older receive food from the pantry every month, Tyson said.
Three Square buys food from national wholesale vendors and receives donated items. Much of the food donated in bulk from companies and dairy farmers comes from out of state and Three Square just pays to transport it.
One in 10 seniors in Nevada struggles with food insecurity, Tyson said. Many are retirees who don’t have family nearby, she said.
“Nevada has a lot of seniors who leave their support system behind,” she said.
