DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — CROS Ministries seeks volunteers as demand for senior meal deliveries grows. CROS Ministries says its Caring Kitchen program has reached capacity serving seniors and homebound residents in the Delray Beach area, and now the nonprofit is looking for more volunteers as it works to expand.
WATCH BELOW: Senior meal program at capacity, volunteers needed
The organization currently delivers about 2,000 healthy meals each month through its Caring Kitchen program. But with more people seeking help, leaders say they're no longer able to take on every new client.
"Right now we are at our maximum of 120 clients that we serve in this homebound meal deliveries," said Shona Castillo, Caring Kitchen program director. "I have a waitlist."
The free meal delivery program serves seniors and homebound residents in Delray Beach and parts of Boca Raton. Volunteers help prepare, package and deliver meals directly to people who may otherwise struggle to access healthy food.
"I am looking for volunteers to help us deliver the meals to our seniors and our homebound," Castillo said.
According to Castillo, inquiries for the service continue to come in.
The nonprofit is now hoping to grow the program from roughly 120 to 150 clients in the coming months, but volunteers will be key to making that happen.
Volunteer John Gavin has been delivering meals through the program for about a year and a half. On a recent route, he loaded freshly prepared meals and made deliveries to dozens of clients.
"We have 34 clients on this route," Gavin said. "It is a free service, and it's homemade food packed daily, it was made this morning fresh, packed, and it's to them before noon every day, Mondays and Wednesdays."
Gavin said the growing need is evident.
"Definitely. And that's why I like working here. There's a definite need. Almost every week I'm filling out a new application for someone," he said.
While the organization is looking for more volunteers, Gavin said the experience can be rewarding for those who choose to help.
"The gift that I get from what I do here is something you can't pay for, and you don't realize that until you're involved doing this," Gavin said. "I get way more out of this than I'm putting into it."
He added, "Having more volunteers is certainly something the Caring Kitchen could use, and it's rewarding. You wouldn't know it until you did it."
For people who receive the meals, the service helps relieve financial pressure while ensuring access to nutritious food.
Lyn Greenblatt, who has been receiving meals for several months, said the rising cost of living has gotten difficult.
"I'm on Social Security," Greenblatt said. "I have to pay partial rent with that and health insurance, which, you know, it's costly, so, yeah, it's tight."
Without the deliveries, she said, "I'd probably make pasta and just live off of that because it's filling and easy to make."
Greenblatt said the meals provide far more than just convenience.
"It's also balanced," she said. "There's a vegetable and a meal and maybe some pasta and a, it's always a vegetable. There's a salad. So, it's balanced."
The deliveries also provide valuable social interaction.
"It's a visit too. It's not just a food delivery," Greenblatt said of Gavin. "He makes me feel comfortable."
She added that having reliable meals available eases some of the stress that comes with living on a limited income.
"It's a very big stress relief because they're balanced, and I look forward to that," Greenblatt said.
Castillo said the program receives food through food-recovery partnerships with organizations including the Palm Beach County Food Bank, Whole Foods and Publix. The group also purchases some food to accommodate special dietary needs, including meals for people with diabetes and other health conditions.
The meals are prepared using USDA My Healthy Plate guidelines and are designed to provide nutritional value many recipients might otherwise miss.
"Most of them, because they're such a limited and tight budget, oftentimes they say they go to the Dollar Tree and they would normally just exist on tuna and crackers," Castillo said. "Our meals provide them that nutritional value that they are not receiving."
Caring Kitchen volunteers are needed for meal preparation, packaging and deliveries. The program delivers meals on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Caring Kitchen has been serving the Delray Beach community since 1993.
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