New York, NY —
Aging baby boomers and longer life spans are causing the city to re-evaluate its Meals on Wheels programs. In 10 years, the Department for the aging predicts there will be 26 percent more people age 85 and older living in the city. While the population will grow funding will not. The city's solution is to consolidate contracts and serve more frozen meals. WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez report.The trend toward more frozen meals is nationwide. Philadelphia for example, the place where Meals on Wheels originated, serves frozen meals to almost 100 percent of its seniors and contracts with private food manufacturers instead of non-profits. In New York City though the majority of meals still come from the kitchens inside churches, synagogues, and community centers and local non-profits are fighting to keep it that way. The city's Department for the Aging (also known as DFTA) says its not trying to get rid of the non-profits, its only trying to get them to run more efficiently.
MENDEZ-SANTIAGO: What we've suggested is that many of them can find ways to work together to provide these services and still allow us a contract that will give them more purchasing power, and at the same time increase the use of frozen meals that will help us serve seniors for whom that's appropriate at a much lower cost.
The Bronx is the testing ground for these changes. Originally the city wanted 60 percent of all meals delivered to be frozen but non-profits adamantly opposed that and at one point threatened to boycott the proposal process altogether. The number was ultimately changed to 30 percent. Michael Bird is a salesman for Traditions, a company based in Jackson, Mississippi that provides frozen meals for other big cities across the U.S.. He says non-profits are always resistant at first:
BYRD: I see where this works in other cities so well and the non-profits are able to continue their service levels and do all the other stuff and they are just able to lower their cost the program is just going to keep growing.
Non-profits don't have the technology to make frozen meals so it is likely they will have to outsource the work to places like Jackson, Mississippi. That could mean layoffs for the people who work in their kitchens.
As these changes continue to get hammered out, 27 thousand meals continue to get cooked and delivered through out the city each day.
About 200 come from the Gloria Weiss Boys and Girls Club that serves the sprawling co-op city population.
Everyday Rabbi Solomon Burle comes in to inspect the food.
By 10am the kosher kitchen is bustling and the mostly black and latino staff are ladeling turkey meatballs, spaghetti linguini, and mixed vegetables into tin plates. Volunteers on public assistance required to be there as part of their work requirement fill small plastic bags with closed milk cartons, juice, bread, margarine and fruit cups. It doesn't take long before the drivers have loaded their red trucks and are on their way.
Sara Rosenburg is thin and well dressed. She is familiar with the handsome and polite 21 year old who delivers her meal today and waits for him at the door:
ROSENBURG: The young men are very charming, most charming. The program really is a godsend when you get to a point where you can't really do everything for yourself. I wish the medical profession was this considerate.
The interaction between the two lasts only a few minutes. Drivers are under time constraints. They've got two hours to get their meals out. But for those who are isolated the brief exchange matters. 86-year-old Rose Giampietro has circulation problems, and recently had a knee replacement. She can hardly see or walk. She leaves the door unlocked for the driver who knows to announce himself, wait for her ok and then walk in. Sitting in a tattered chair positioned directly in front of the television set, she responds to the possible changes:
GIAMPIETRO: Just to have frozen meals delivered two or three times a week isn't good because you wouldn't see anyone at the door. Like my family comes the weekend but not during the week.
The city says it will only give frozen meals to seniors for whom its appropriate. This means Mrs. Giampietro would be a likely candidate. She's got a microwave and has a nurse attendant who visits her daily, which means she's not completely isolated.
Charlie Rosen is the Director of the Gloria Weiss program and says drivers are trained to notice foul smells, unusual clutter, or strange behavior all things that could signal trouble. And without daily contact, he says the link with seniors is compromised.
ROSEN: Because of the nature of these being isolated frail elderly people over the age of 85 we're very often the only human contact these people have. And DFTA's response was well we can do it with telephone calls, friendly visiting, etc. it's nonsense, it's absolute poppycock.
The last day to apply for the new larger contracts was February 17th. Several non-profits, including Gloria Weiss, formed consortiums and met the deadline albeit grudgingly. Contracts will be awarded in late Spring in preparation for a July 1st start date. And if the changes work in the Bronx, the rest of the boroughs are expected to follow.
For WNYC: I'm Cindy Rodriguez