Free meals for seniors program go strong in Rancho Bernardo

Handy, tasty, healthy and variation are just a few of the words that seniors use when talking about a free meal service that is available in Rancho Bernardo.

“The food is good, it is very healthy and I now eat more vegetables than in my life,” said Iris Sussman, 80, from Escondido. “They are as old-fashioned TV dinners. There is a better range and healthier than what I buy at Trader Joe’s. “

Sussman, who does volunteer work two days a week in the Ed Brown Center for Active Adults in Rancho Bernardo Community Park, is one of the 103 seniors that are registered to collect a box with frozen food in the parking lot of the center every Wednesday between noon and 1 pm

Another 163 seniors in Rancho Bernardo, Poway and Escondido delivered the free meal boxes to their houses on Monday.

The food program is serving seniors for more than 55 years, a non -profit organization in San Diego County. Everyone aged 60 or older is eligible to receive a free box with seven meals every week, said Melinda Forey, who served the Chief Operating Officer of seniors.

Many seniors who collect meals in Rancho Bernardo on 5 March, wanted the program to praise.

“(The meals) are healthy, very handy and it is so reliable because I can pick it up every week, rain or sunshine,” said Rancho Bernardo resident Elizabeth Lefcort, 83. “I eat much better.”

Lefcort said her husband died two months ago, so cooking meals for herself is something that she has little motivation to do.

“The fact that they are free really helps,” she said. “They are calorie. I like that. “

Poway resident David May, 77, said he also lives alone. He knows how to cook, but has limited mobility, so maneuvering around his kitchen to cook while he uses his walker is a challenge.

“These are very good and nutritious,” said Mei, who signed up a year ago for the Meals program after reading a newsletter in the Poway News Chieftain.

It is the variety of meals that Maurice Nahum, a Rancho Bernardo resident in his 80s, said is his favorite aspect.

“I love the little desserts and drinks, it’s handy and helps,” said Nahum. “I love the vegetables.”

The boxes have seven complete frozen dinners in addition to extras such as slices of bread, juice, dry milk, fruit cups, boxes with raisins and margarine.

On March 5, the frozen meals in the box of that week include spaghetti and meatballs with whole kernel corn and broccoli; Chicken pie with barbecue sauce, Succotash and green beans; Roasted pollock with green pea mixture vegetables and carrots; And chicken offers about spicy orange rice with bean mixture, peppers and three seasons of vegetables.

Every meal requires heating in the microwave for a few minutes or a little longer in the oven.

“The meals were made by registered dietitians who work with the county,” said Forey. “Every meal meets a third of their daily food requirements.”

They also meet sodium thresholds and meals rotate seasonal. The meals are prepared in Sacramento, with ingredients of Californian farmers, Forey said.

The program is unable to accommodate the food restrictions, such as gluten -free, she said.

Various recipients of the meal box participate in the programs of the Ed Brown Center, such as Nahum, which is located in a Wednesday exercise lesson. But the center membership is not required to receive meals.

Sitecoordinator Taee Bird said in the past year that he got to know the most seniors by name. He makes a festive event, plays music from the 50s and 60s of the cooled van that he parks for the center during distribution.

Many recipients carry their boxes away, but if they have problems, Bird puts the box in the trunk of their vehicle for them.

The ED Brown Center’s to-go-meal box program started in March 2024 after a short-term congregated lunch on location via another organization. The advantage of to-go meals is that seniors can eat them at any time, instead of being limited to only the moments when a composite meal is served.

“It allows seniors to have seven healthy meals a week,” said Kim Lange, executive director of the Ed Brown Center. “Many live alone and don’t just want to cook for themselves or eat nutritious food as they should.”

Lange said that she went to areas where seniors live with a low income, such as Tizon in Rancho Bernardo and the Apollo Senior Apartments in Poway, to personally promote the program.

But she emphasized that meals are not based on income. They are free for every age of 60 years and older. She said that the Seniors program can help with limited income to further extend their money.

“Many seniors are home -bound, do not drive and have difficulty getting their groceries because they don’t have a family member nearby,” Lange said.

During the tax year of 2023-24, those seniors served, seniors carried nearly 1.2 million meals at 7,663 seniors in San Diego County through his house, to-go, congregate and frozen meal programs, according to the annual impact report. It has 38 meal routes in the province and to-go meals in Rancho Bernardo was one of the two new offers that made it last year. The other was a congregate dining place in La Mesa.

Forey said that because of how well the Rancho Bernardo meal box program was received, serving seniors is planning to extend it to other places where common meals are not an option.

“Many do not realize that in Rancho Bernardo, where we know that there is a large older adult population, there is a need for these services,” Forey said. “We saw the census data, where many older adults live below the poverty line in that area.”

Forey said that long had made his hand about starting a congregate dining area, but they started with the to-go model to see how it worked.

“It has been incredibly successful, because many people are foods indeed … but maybe not available for a meal from Monday to Friday. … they do shopping, so this is more convenient to meet their needs, “she said.

More than 180,000 older adults in the province are food -uncertain, according to data from San Diego Hunger Coalition, Forestey said.

Although serving seniors meals is financed by the County of San Diego Health & Human Services Agency and Aging & Independence Services, Forestey said that some financing of the federal government will come through the older Americans ACT.

This is a federal law that was adopted by the congress in 1965 to offer services and support to older adults.

“It includes various programs, including senior food,” said Forey. “It is a long -term program with two -part support.”

From this moment Forey said she has never heard of planned federal financing reductions.

The meal boxes are distributed for free, although donations are accepted by those who can contribute. The requested donation is $ 2.50 per meal, which is $ 17.50 for a box.

If a senior receiver has a non-senior guest who eats meals, boxes are sold for $ 28, which is $ 4 per meal.

Participants are required to fill in a registration form, so that demographic data, including family income, can be collected. But Lange emphasized that the information is confidential.

According to Forey, the surveys of its organization have determined that 90% of the seniors participate in serving senior meal programs are better able to manage their health and 80% report healthier food because of meals with vegetables, fruit and full grains.

Moreover, 70% said that their physical health improved. For those who participate in the Congregate Meals program, 80% reported that they were less isolated and have more socialization, which is “crucial for older adults,” she said.

In order to receive meals, either by picking up at the Ed Brown Center on Wednesday or having them delivered on Monday, receivers must register by the previous Friday. They can call serving seniors on 619-235-6572 or stop at the ED Brown Center on 18402 W. Bernardo Drive in Rancho Bernardo Community Park between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays.

Originally published: March 12, 2025 at 12:08 pm PDT