Hundreds of Lower Merion seniors receive Thanksgiving meals
BRYN MAWR, Pa. -- Volunteers and staff packed hundreds of Thanksgiving meals Monday for people ages 65 and older and their families.
"Mashed potatoes, green beans, we even have pies," said ElderNet Executive Director Anthony Johnson, listing just a few of the items waiting for families served by the agency.
He helped dozens of staff and volunteers with the food packing operation.
"The volunteers are just wonderful," Johnson said, adding that community support is vital to meeting a need that grows every year.
"Last year, we served about 270. This year, we will probably do about 340 or 350," Johnson said.
Statistics show many people are having trouble affording the basics. According to the Center for Women's Welfare at The University of Washington, a single person living in Montgomery County must earn at least $31,511 each year, to afford necessities like food.
ElderNet staff said their average participant 65 and older only earns about $13,200 each year. Johnson said the end of the federal COVID response brought more people through his doors.
"When those COVID SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] benefits ended, that hit people really hard, and we saw an immediate increase in the number of people coming to the pantry," Johnson said.
But not everyone could come to the pantry. That is why homebound participants waited for volunteers to deliver meals. Others, like 66-year-old Donnie Johnson from Ardmore, lined up at ElderNet.
"It's hard, because I don't have a job. I'm not working," he said.
He says without events like these, many people would have to search for a hot Thanksgiving meal.
"I would probably be going to everybody's house for a plate of food," he said. "These people are doing a lot for me, and they are helping me out, and they are doing a lot for a lot of people."
ElderNet leaders say they have more work ahead. This week they will start planning with a local church for their Christmas event called Merry Meals.
