“It’s good food, but it’s just not enough,” Phyllis said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“After we eat breakfast, we may sit around until 2 p.m. depending on when food comes. And that’s when we eat … for the whole day,” Edward said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We’re told by many of the people we deliver to, that the one meal they are getting from Encore is their only source of freshly cooked food,” said Jeremy Kaplan, executive director of Encore Community Services.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I might eat part of mine and we’ll have (the rest) later tomorrow for lunch,” Phyllis said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The stark reality of food insecurity hits particularly hard on the weekends, when delivery is not required.<\/p>\n
Organizations like Encore and R.A.I.N.<\/a>, which services seniors in the Bronx, fundraise and partner with others like Citymeals On Wheels<\/a> to provide weekend meals, in addition to their city-funded weekday operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n “On Friday, we will provide a Saturday and Sunday meal in addition to the Monday through Friday meals,” said Ikuna Hasangjekaj of R.A.I.N.\u00a0<\/p>\n A hot meal or the next bill?<\/p>\n Many seniors receive free meals as they confront food insecurity.<\/p>\n CBS News New York<\/p>\n Citymeals On Wheels says it delivers about 2.6 million meals to 22,000 homebound seniors across New York City every year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dorelle Jones, 80, gets meals seven days a week.\u00a0<\/p>\n “You can just sit and wait, because Mike is coming,” Jones said. “Food is here, always have something to eat.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Still, seniors are living on a menu of difficult choices: a hot meal, or the next bill. A recent report shows one in five older New Yorkers go to bed hungry, with no certainty of their next meal.\u00a0<\/p>\n New York City Councilmember Linda Lee introduced legislation last year that would require meals get delivered each day of the calendar year.\u00a0<\/p>\n “The food insecurity issue is a real issue we are seeing more and more in older adults and immigrant communities, especially for halal meals, the need for kosher, or culturally-specific meals,” Lee said.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Food is medicine”\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"bisram-5p-pkg-cost-of-c-wcbsg3og-hi-res-still-00-00-3528.jpg](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/bisram-5p-pkg-cost-of-c-wcbsg3og-hi-res-still-00-00-3528.jpg#.jpeg\")
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