Res 0112-2014

By Council Members Johnson, Chin, Cohen, Eugene, Gentile, Koo, Rose, Vallone, Mendez, Menchaca and Ulrich Whereas, The federal government provides local agencies on aging with funding for nutritional programs for seniors through the Older Americans Act; and Whereas, The New York City Department for the Aging (DFTA) contracts with non-profit organizations to operate nutrition programs offering seniors community-based (congregate) and home delivered meals; and Whereas, All individuals age 60 and over, and their spouses, are eligible for free congregate meals, regardless of income or assets; and Whereas, DFTA contractors provide congregate breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals at more than 200 senior centers across the City during the week; and Whereas, In 2009, DFTA eliminated a component of its nutrition program that provided seniors with a meal to take home to be eaten during the weekend, also known as a "6th congregate meal," citing budget cuts; and Whereas, More than 24,000 seniors in New York City take part in DFTA's nutrition program, with 7.3 million congregate meals served and 4.25 million meals delivered in 2013; and Whereas, Over 175,000 seniors, approximately 11.5 percent of those over age 60 in New York City, report being food insecure; and Whereas, Free nutritious congregate and home delivered meals can help prevent disease, reduce the effects of chronic illnesses, promote socialization, and keep low-income seniors from going hungry; and Whereas, Restoring congregate weekend meals and encouraging the utilization of DFTA's nutrition programs would positively impact the lives of thousands of the City's seniors; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the Department for the Aging to restore the congregate weekend meal program and conduct a public awareness campaign to promote congregate and home delivered meals. KET 3/7/14 12:47PM LS 526/2014