Seniors lined the street to receive support in pounds of produce at Tully Park on Wednesday.
Hundreds of seniors were provided with pounds of produce on July 23 in Tully Park courtesy of a joint effort by the Town of North Hempstead, the Long Island Cares food bank and electric company PSEG LI, which provided funding for the food. Many arrived at the park well before the listed start time of 10 a.m. for the free farmer’s market and lined up with each other, highlighting a need for fresh food in elderly residents.
“People who are in need don’t want to miss out,” said Jessica Rosati, vice president of programs and community service for Long Island Cares, on what motivated people to arrive hours early. “Seniors are such a vulnerable population [and] produce is the second most requested item among the Emergency Food Network on Long Island.”
A total of 294 households, including 758 seniors, received 5,730 pounds of tomatoes, apples, lettuce, corn, beets, squash, cabbage, zucchini, pears, limes, nectarines, pomegranates, grapefruit, carrots, cauliflower, onions and sweet potatoes, over three hours Rosati said.
North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena, who helped give out bags of fruits and vegetables to seniors, said she believed it to be important to use the town’s parks for events like this.
“I am so happy that our parks can be a place for good health,” DeSena said. “I know that some people played pickleball and then came over and got some food. One gentleman I spoke with went to the gym inside Tully, and then came over to get some vegetables.”
“What North Hempstead has is parks,” she continued. “I’m just so excited that they can be used as a healthy meeting place for our residents.”
Roasati said the food bank is in a unique position to provide seniors with bulk produce, which can be expensive in supermarkets.
“Produce yields an abundance and it’s cheap when you buy it in such mass quantities,” Rosait said, pointing out that “5,000 pounds cost me less than $4,000. If that was just a regular Jessica Rosati going to the supermarket to get produce for my family, I couldn’t get those prices.”
Rosati said Long Island Cares holds these produce-specific markets for seniors not only because they fill a need, but they also reinvigorate seniors’ quest for cooking and eating.
“Most seniors, as they age, age independently,” Rosati said. “They’re usually losing their spouse, they find themselves alone with very limited community support and limited incomes. The first thing that they do is reduce what they eat.”
“Produce gets them excited about food again,” she continued. “I can’t tell you how many people will do something like pick up an eggplant from my mobile market truck and be like, ‘Oh my God, Jessica, I made eggplant rollatini for my husband 30 years ago. It resonates with them, and it becomes nostalgic for them, and then they get excited again about the possibility of creating and making something that’s gonna fuel them in more ways than just filling their bellies.”
Long Island Cares will hold another senior-centered produce market at their headquarters in Hauppauge from 9 a.m. to noon on Aug. 6.
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