Serving Seniors Celebrates 20 Million Meals Served Milestone
Community leaders, supporters, and Serving Seniors staff and volunteers gathered at the Gary and Mary West Senior Wellness Center dining room to commemorate the 20 millionth meal served to clients during lunch service on Friday, September 13.
After a celebratory toast spoken in Spanish, Mandarin, and English by Dr. Jon Zifferblatt, Chief Strategy officer of the West Health Institute and West Health Policy Institute, philanthropist and Serving Seniors benefactor Mary West enjoyed the honor of serving the milestone meal. A drumroll, countdown, and confetti drop highlighted the significance of the occasion.
“There are milestones, and sometimes there are really big milestones,” said Serving Seniors CEO Paul Downey. “It took us 40 years to serve the first 10 million meals. It took us 10 years to serve the second 10 million meals. It will take us six and a half years to serve the next 10 million meals. What’s really exciting is that we have the capacity to serve even more seniors,” said Downey.
VIP servers also included San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, who served the first of the next million meals; San Diego City Councilmember Stephen Whitburn; San Diego County Supervisor Monica Montgomery-Steppe, as well as members of the Serving Seniors Board of Directors including chairperson Mary Gendron.
“I want to be here not just to mark this occasion, but to thank Serving Seniors for being an extraordinary part of our city,” said Mayor Gloria. “You can’t be a great city without thriving, healthy, and active seniors.”
“The compassion and dedication we see from everybody who contributed to the success of Serving Seniors speaks so highly of the staff, the board, the volunteers, the philanthropists. That is what we see at the heart of Serving Seniors,” said Councilmember Whitburn.
“We know this organization, Serving Seniors, plays a crucial role in our community,” said Supervisor Montgomery-Steppe. “Our entire community thanks you.”
Trio Chef Mario Reyes, who creates the meals served to clients, was on hand to personally oversee lunch service. He selected a menu of roast beef and potatoes, with side dishes and slices of the celebratory cake.
Downey thanked the benefactors and supporters who made the milestone possible, and the work of the staff and volunteers who run the meals program 365 days a year.
“Our team is working tirelessly to ensure every community is reached and every senior in need is fed. Our dedicated volunteers and nutrition staff are here each day, working tirelessly in the dining rooms to serve our seniors. Their commitment and hard work are the backbone of our program, and today we have the honor of presenting them with our milestone meal,” said Downey.
Many low-income and homeless older adults struggle to meet their basic needs, like access to food. One in ten San Diego County seniors reports food insecurity.
Serving Seniors is the single largest provider of meals to San Diego County older adults since its inception in 1970 including home-delivered meals for 54 years. The organization provided 1.4 million meals in 2023.
Menus are developed monthly in collaboration with County of San Diego registered dieticians and led by Chef Reyes, working with meal-preparation contractor Trio Community Meals.
All meals are prepared fresh daily each morning in the Serving Seniors Potiker Family Residence kitchens in the East Village. Meals are served in eight congregate dining room settings. The largest is the Serving Seniors Gary and Mary West Wellness Center at 4th and Beech Streets in downtown San Diego. Serving Seniors also serves meals in City Heights, East San Diego, Bay Terraces, Oceanside, and Imperial Beach.
For homebound older adults, Serving Seniors drivers deliver meals to homes on 30 delivery routes throughout the county, as well as distribution hubs in Oceanside and in the South Bay area of San Diego. Deliveries take place Monday through Friday, with additional meals provided Thursday and Friday to cover the weekend.
To-go meals are also available for pickup at Serving Seniors in downtown San Diego, and the Oceanside Senior Center. Meals are served 365 days a year.
A meal is much more than a simple plate of food. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, loneliness and social isolation in older adults are serious public health risks affecting a significant number of people in the U.S., putting them at risk for dementia and other serious medical conditions. Offering socialization over meals is a vital part of the Serving Seniors mission to keep older adults healthy and better able to avoid homelessness.
Once a client starts receiving meals, a Serving Seniors case manager meets with each person to determine whether any other services or resources might benefit them, providing an additional outreach opportunity to low-income and homeless older adults. They can access healthcare, exercise classes, walking groups, and civic engagement. Not only do the fresh, nutritious meals provide the basic building blocks of healthy aging, the lively dining room service feeds the soul as well.
About Serving Seniors
Founded in 1970, Serving Seniors is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in San Diego, California, dedicated to serving low-income adults aged 60 and over. A leader in senior advocacy and programming, Serving Seniors has created an innovative model of comprehensive services including nutrition meals, housing, health and social services and lifelong learning opportunities to hundreds of seniors in need. It is the largest provider of meals to seniors in the county, and one of the only organizations in the nation providing a robust range of services to vulnerable, at-risk older adults.
