The Citymeals Blog

Culture and food are inextricably linked. New York City — a place where over 800 different languages are spoken — is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world. So, when it comes to food, older New Yorkers deserve a diversity of choices.

At Citymeals, we work to provide our older neighbors with those options, not only as part of a varied, balanced diet, but to reflect their cultural preferences. That means providing kosher meals for some and vegetarian options for others.

As Eric Cooper, the Home-Delivered Meal Coordinator at Carter Burden Luncheon Club, says, “Vegetables are essential.” The center’s menu provides a vegetarian entree every day, from veggie burgers to vegan root stew. “Variety is important,” says Cooper, “especially in an older adult center like this. You want to satisfy as many — fill up as many stomachs — as possible.” 

This work is something Citymeals is able to do for our home-delivered meal recipients with the help of our community partners, like Carter Burden, and foundations like the Guru Krupa Foundation, who have provided funding for 2,500 vegetarian meals for recipients in Queens this year. New York City is home to one of the largest populations of Indian people outside of Asia — about half of whom are vegetarian.

Says Mukund Padmanabhan, founder of GKF, “We are happy to partner with Citymeals to reduce food insecurity among at least a small portion of the homebound and elderly population of Queens.”

Citymeals serves over 5,000 recipients in Queens, where poverty among older people has grown almost 40 percent over the last decade, says the Center for an Urban Future. That rate is higher for immigrants than those born in the United States and those who identify as Asian report the highest rates of poverty of any group.

According to a report last year, New York City households living on $15,000 a year or less — like 65 percent of our meal recipients — spend 70 percent of their income on food. But, oftentimes, it’s not enough. Over half of our meal recipients say that they need more than the one meal a day we provide.

Between growing need and rising price of food, providing healthy, culturally acceptable options is a must for Citymeals. Together, we’re ensuring that, even as people age, they still have access to a wide range of meals. Because we know that a meal is also a sense connection. And that’s what we strive to deliver across all five boroughs.