A grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas will help the city of Wichita in providing food for senior citizens who live in public housing.
The city’s housing director, Sally Stang, said the grant will cover the cost of food distribution in all four senior public housing properties for eight weeks. The program will allow seniors to stay home and reduce their risk of exposure to the coronavirus through grocery store visits.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield is providing $37,562.40 for the program, and the city has contracted with MEI Foods to deliver the food. A food box will be provided to around 180 seniors every two weeks for the eight-week run of the program. Each food box will contain 2-3 pounds of ground beef, 5 pounds of potatoes, 8 oranges, 4-8 apples, 3 onions, 2-3 bags or boxes of pasta, beans or rice, and 6-10 cans of vegetables with some canned meat.
City council member Becky Tuttle says the program is an opportunity to serve the city’s most vulnerable population in a unique and creative way.
