Feeding Northeast Florida, local restaurants team up through 'Project Share’ to deliver meals to seniors

NORTHEAST FLORIDA — Locals seniors stuck inside their homes over fears of the coronavirus are getting a helping hand.

Feeding Northeast Florida and local restaurants are teaming up through Project Share to deliver nutritious meals to seniors so they can stay safe during the pandemic.

Scott Alters is the executive chef and owner at Rue-Saint Marc restaurant in San Marco.

When Feeding Northeast Florida approached him about a new program aimed at feeding seniors, he jumped at the chance to help his community.

Story continues below:

“A lot of the meals we prepare go to seniors that don’t want to be out in public, don’t want to do their own grocery shopping or definitely have concerns contracting the virus and we’re able to deliver a very professionally made meal,” Alters said.

Feeding Northeast Florida’s CEO Susan King said Project Share already has nine community restaurants cooking nearly 5,500 meals a day for seniors.

“We realized that that’s our, absolutely most vulnerable population, people who couldn’t and shouldn’t be out accessing food and lived in facilities where they weren’t able to bring in as much from the kitchen staff to keep them safe,” King said.

After the meals are cooked and prepped, they’re loaded up by Feeding Northeast Florida trucks.

On Wednesday, they’ll be delivering 280 meals to seniors at the Towers of Jacksonville. Alters says each of the meals provides all essential ingredients seniors need to be healthy too.

“We received quite a few calls from the seniors at the restaurant thanking us for the meals. Just to watch the team light up with enthusiasm when they receive those phone calls, it’s pretty special to watch,” Alters said.

Project Share not only helps feed seniors but it keeps restaurant staff employed that would otherwise be without a job during the pandemic.

Feeding Northeast Florida said additional funding is still needed to make sure seniors get their meals each week. If you’d like to help, click here.

© 2020 Cox Media Group