University of North Florida student volunteers are helping deliver weekly meals to Jacksonville senior citizens facing food insecurity through the university’s Meals on Wings program, which recovers unused food from local hospitals and repackages it into balanced meal kits.
Through the program, student volunteers at the Center for Nutrition and Food Security are working to address senior food insecurity in Jacksonville, where many residents face limited access to fresh, nutritious food. The program, which has grown from serving 35 seniors in 2018 to 350 today, repurposes unused hospital food into dignified, balanced meal kits for seniors over 60 while also giving students hands-on experience in nutrition, food recovery and community service, said UNF professor and nutritionist Jen Ross.
For some Jacksonville residents, the weekly grocery run has become a hassle, with most grocery stores being out of walking distance in the car-centric city. Some residents are turning to Dollar General aisles to fill their freezers, limiting access to nutritious foods and contributing to food insecurity, said Ross…