by Making A Difference Foundation (MADF)
Thousands of elderly and disabled people in our community live on fixed incomes or limited social security benefits and often sacrifice nutritious, necessary food to pay for critical prescriptions, housing, utilities, and medical care. When they can buy food, they subsist on cheaper, poor quality, processed food which is a contributing factor to their health issues: obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. In Pierce County, Washington, the second largest county with 12% of the state's population, 1 in 6 citizens are food insecure, 12.4% live in poverty, 10.1% under the age of 65 live with a disability, and 55% of those 65+ live with a chronic disease. Healthy, fresh food is critical to the good health and wellbeing of this underserved, vulnerable population.
Making A Difference Foundation's Eloise Cooking Pot Food Bank is the third largest food bank in Pierce County, Washington, and has the largest home delivery program. Of the clients we serve, 45% receive home delivery due to health barriers that keep them homebound, unable to access normal food bank services. Home delivery serves the elderly and disabled in subsidized housing who struggle to acquire the healthy food they desperately need and reduces the safety barriers most of them experience when trying to obtain it. Home delivery is available four days per week with meal boxes averaging 25 lbs. of fresh and prepackaged, culturally sensitive, and special diet food, enough for about 6 meals. They also receive other needed items, including hygiene and household products and pet food.