“We’ve gone from 2,000 to over 12,000 meals a week,” said Teresa Johnson, Executive Director of the Health Trust. “That's a 600 percent increase just since the beginning of March.” with almost half the percentage from COVID-19 related clients.”

Since 1996, the Health Trust has prepared, packaged, and delivered hot and frozen meals to seniors throughout Silicon Valley, including 486 housed seniors in Hotels.

Meals on wheels packaging up for a delivery in San José, CA. Photo courtesy of The Health Trust.

The Health Trust mission is simple. They believe that everyone in the community should have the opportunity to be healthy. A person’s income, race, immigration status, language, age, or zip code should never act as a barrier to health.

As one of several recipients of the City’s Collective Impact Grant (CIG), for community-based organizations actively distributing food and necessities to San José residents, the Health Trust will use the additional funding to support the needs of the community.

With the funding from the CIG, the Health Trust partners are able to acquire extra supplies, needed equipment and staffing. They have also employed more drivers as well as expanding their call center staffing as their volume of calls has reached 500 calls per day.

Meals on Wheels (MOW) is a partnering organization which delivers meals to homebound, older neighbors, and seniors. Local Meals on Wheels programs are on the front lines every day, serving vulnerable seniors that are at the greatest risk amid COVID-19, focusing on doing all they can to keep older Americans safe and nourished in communities across the country.

A new survey conducted by MOW America reveals that programs are now serving an average of 47% more seniors than they were March 1, when concerns over COVID-19 and social distancing measures began taking hold. The survey also found that 97% of local MOW programs have seen costs rise, particularly due to the need to acquire safety supplies and deliver more meals to each senior amid uncertainty.

The Health Trust ensures that everyone in our community should have the opportunity to be healthy in San José, CA. Photo courtesy of The Health Trust.

With the funding from the CIG, the Health Trust partners are able to acquire extra supplies, needed equipment and staffing. They have also employed more drivers as well as expanding their call center staffing as their volume of calls has reached 500 calls per day.

“Thanks to the City of San José Collective Impact Grant, we are able to fund the necessary supplies until June 2021,” said Johnson.

According to the Health Trust, this is important to their mission as they believe the demand for meals by those in need will not drop in the upcoming year.

The Health Trust is in need of donations, partners and volunteers. Learn more by visiting www.healthtrust.org today.

To find out how you can access food resources in your neighborhood, please visit bit.ly/SCCFoodMap.