Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services News

#SILICONVALLEYSTRONGHEROES Provides Food Resources That Promote Health In The Community

Post Date:08/19/2021 5:00 PM

*This is a special feature from the City of San José, Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services
“We want everyone in the community to be as healthy as possible. We recognize some people might need more support to take a healthy bite out of the apple and some people might need less,” says Michele Lew, CEO for The Health Trust.

The Health Trust is a local organization whose mission is to build health equity in Silicon Valley for vulnerable populations. They accomplish this through one of their main focus areas: improving health through food. And through this, The Health Trust is able to focus on providing equitable support to folks in order for them to be healthy.

This week’s #SiliconValleyStrongHeroes is the team at The Health Trust and the individuals who work hard to provide resources that promote health in the community.

The Health Trust has been providing home delivery meals since their inception in 1996 through the Meals on Wheels program. This home delivery program is designed to provide healthy meals to homebound seniors in the community who are unable to get meals themselves.

During the first six months of the pandemic, The Health Trust increased the number of meal deliveries by 600%. They were providing more than 6 times the number of meals than they were pre-pandemic. Today, the number has since gone down to 300% but they don’t anticipate the number decreasing further.

With a nod to constantly improve their services, The Health Trust has recently announced the launch of a new partnership that will provide Asian meal options for those that request it due to the dramatic growth they’ve seen in their Asian clientele. Pre-pandemic, the Asian clientele was about 17% and today it has more than doubled to 35%.

As our population diversifies, they recognize that they should diversify the food choices and to provide healthy options that people will enjoy eating.

Two people wearing masks loading pre packaged goods for food distribution
Workers at The Health Trust moving packaged goods for food distribution.
Lady in her home showing two plates of meals from Meals on Wheels
A senior in the community posed with the home delivered meals.
Plate picturing pasta, peas and corn with a side of an apple and a glass of milk
One of the food options The Health Trust has made available.

“One of the things I love about The Health Trust is being able to see the people we are helping—I go to sleep at night thinking of how we make a difference in the pandemic”, notes Lew.

The Health Trust owes the success of their efforts to their multiple community partners. They would like to send a special thanks to their staff, their volunteers, and The City of San José.

Thank you to all the #SiliconValleyStrongHeroes at The Health Trust and their community partners, who are bringing food resources to those in need in our community.

For more information on how you can access and find food resources in your neighborhood, visit bit.ly/SCCFoodMap.

For more information on The Health Trust, visit healthtrust.org.

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