For many older adults, especially those unable to shop for food or cook due to a disability or other medical reasons, proper nutrition is a key factor to continue living in their home and community. On Lok’s Mission Nutrition program, headquartered at our 30th Street Senior Center, helps seniors maintain proper health, strength, and independence with hot, nutritious meals prepared from fresh ingredients in our kitchens.
Community Meals Provide Good Nutrition and Social Contact
Mission Nutrition operates six dining sites located at community and senior services centers throughout San Francisco; the largest dining room is at On Lok’s 30th Street Senior Center in the Mission neighborhood.
In addition to a hot, balanced meal, seniors who come to our dining rooms are given the opportunity to eat in a community setting, where they can socialize with peers. They are also invited to attend free nutrition education workshops, held monthly at each dining site. These simple actions lead to healthier living and more wholesome dietary practices, while reducing isolation and combating loneliness.
Home-delivered Meals Help Combat Hunger and Isolation
Mission Nutrition’s Home-delivered Meals Program serves seniors who are unable to cook and/or leave their homes to shop for food due to a medical condition or disability. More than 80 percent of meal recipients are very low-income, and 35 percent are over 85 years of age. Participants receive a two-meal package that includes a hot entrée, delivered Monday through Friday; at the end of the week, they receive meals for Saturday and Sunday. Mission Nutrition provides hot meals on major holidays as well—we are one of only two organizations in San Francisco to offer this level of home-delivered meal service!
In addition to providing food for proper health and strength, Mission Nutrition helps to reduce isolation. Our drivers hand-deliver all meals, serving as daily visitors and safety net for homebound seniors on their route. Drivers are mandatory reporters of elder abuse and are trained annually to recognize the signs of potential neglect, abuse or self-neglect.
Meals and Services to Keep Seniors Healthy, Active, and Independent
Mission Nutrition’s Community Meals Program is often the entry point to On Lok’s continuum of support services, designed to keep seniors physically vital, mentally active, and socially engaged. It is based out of the 30th Street Senior Center—a major resource, activity hub, and place to enjoy a warm meal for local seniors since 1979. Mission Nutrition connects seniors to the Center’s wide range of programs to support the well-being of the whole person—from art and computer classes to fitness and fall prevention workshops. Most services are offered in English and Spanish.
