University of North Florida student volunteers are helping deliver weekly meals to Jacksonville senior citizens facing food insecurity through the university’s Meals on Wings program, which recovers unused food from local hospitals and repackages it into balanced meal kits.
Through the program, student volunteers at the Center for Nutrition and Food Security are working to address senior food insecurity in Jacksonville, where many residents face limited access to fresh, nutritious food. The program, which has grown from serving 35 seniors in 2018 to 350 today, repurposes unused hospital food into dignified, balanced meal kits for seniors over 60 while also giving students hands-on experience in nutrition, food recovery and community service, said UNF professor and nutritionist Jen Ross.
For some Jacksonville residents, the weekly grocery run has become a hassle, with most grocery stores being out of walking distance in the car-centric city. Some residents are turning to Dollar General aisles to fill their freezers, limiting access to nutritious foods and contributing to food insecurity, said Ross.
“It’s especially an issue for seniors,” said Ross.
Each week, UNF student volunteers in the university’s Center for Nutrition and Food Security recover unused food from nearby hospitals and bring it back to their kitchens, Ross explained, who works at CNFS. After creating balanced meals from recovered food, they pack the ‘meal kits’ and deliver them to seniors in need in the area, said Ross.
“It’s a challenge for people to get to the grocery store, even if it’s near them,” Ross said.
One in seven seniors in Jacksonville faces food insecurity, according to the local nonprofit Feeding Northeast Florida. With Florida’s large senior citizen population, demand already exceeds the resources available in Jacksonville, leaving many seniors on waitlists for popular supplemental food programs, such as Meals on Wings.
According to the Jacksonville 2026 Health Report, about 34% of residents live within a half mile of fast-food options, compared to 27.6% who live that close to healthy food options, making access to nutritious meals more difficult.
“A lot of people rely on the Dollar Store, which is good for calories, but not for fresh produce,” Ross said. She also said that there needs to be a focus not just on food security, but also on making sure people are getting nutritious, culturally relevant meals.
Ross explained that this is where UNF’s Meals on Wings program swoops into the community, attempting to combat this issue one meal at a time
Meals on Wings, launched in 2018, is a student-run program based at the university’s Center for Nutrition and Food Security, focused on delivering meals to seniors over 60, according to the CNFS website.
To combat food waste, the program sources ingredients from unused food at local hospitals, such as Baptist Health and the Mayo Clinic, and brings the food back to their kitchens in Hicks Hall, explained Ross. There, the student volunteers, with the help of Ross, Chef Megan Niemyczk, and Nutritionist Dr. Jaime Marchio, recompose the food into balanced, colorful meals.
Ross said it is important for the program to create the meals with balance and dignity in mind, and that the meals “should look pretty, be balanced, and colorful.”
The meal kits also help address seniors’ mobility restraints, Ross explained, such as those who might not be able to stand for long periods to prepare a meal or open cans.
Meals on Wings’ reach has grown since 2018, going from serving 35 seniors in the first cohort to 350 seniors in the Jacksonville area, according to Ross.
The program’s student volunteers play a central role in its growth, helping repackage and package meals and plan deliveries, and gaining hands-on experience in food security and nutrition, explained Ross.
“Our students are amazing; they make the programs,” Ross said. Students and community members interested in volunteering or learning more can contact the Center for Nutrition and Food Security at [email protected].
Student volunteers help younger children follow recipes and prepare simple ones (Photo courtesy of UNF).
Ross said the CNFS team is also expanding its reach beyond seniors with other initiatives such as Nourish to Flourish and Instantly Healthy.
Nourish to Flourish is a nutrition initiative launched in 2024 that provides nutrition education and cooking demonstrations to adolescents in Duval County schools through after-school programs.
According to Ross, student volunteers help younger children follow recipes and prepare simple ones.
In February, CNFS will launch Instantly Healthy, a four-week program that “helps busy families save time while building cooking skills and confidence by teaching quick, healthy meals and providing an Instant Pot,” said Chef Megan Niemczyk, the program coordinator.
Niemczyk, alongside UNF nutrition professor Jamie Marchio and student volunteers, will go out into the community at local community centers, teaching families nutritious recipes all prepped with one appliance.
At the end of the four weeks, participants will leave with new cooking skills, nutritious recipes, and “their very own Instant Pot,” said Niemczyk. The program hopes to make it “so cooking at home feels easier and less overwhelming,” said Niemczyk.
Ross said these programs reflect a broader understanding of food insecurity in Jacksonville. “One thing at the center that we really strive for is that we really believe that everyone deserves to have nutritious, balanced, culturally appropriate, personally appropriate access to nourishing food,” Ross said.
Ross said that food insecurity isn’t just about hunger, but about whether people can reach, afford, and prepare healthy meals that meet their needs.
Through meal delivery, student involvement, nutrition education, and hands-on cooking initiatives, CNFS and Meals on Wheels aim to reduce food insecurity across the city, according to Ross.
“I hope we are contributing toward resolving those inequities,” Ross said. “Everyone deserves access to nutritious and yummy food.”
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