Amy and George Hsu look forward to an affordable lunch five days a week at Sunnyvale United Methodist Church. It’s where they socialize with dozens of older adults, listen to a lively jazz band play “Blueberry Hill” and get a meal with fresh fruit and vegetables they wouldn’t be able to budget for on a daily basis.
“Every morning, first thing … ‘Oh, we have lunch. We have to go,'” George Hsu told San Jose Spotlight with a smile. “So it moves you forward.”
About 37 senior nutrition programs serve 16,000 older adults a free or low-priced lunch across Santa Clara County, according to 2024 county data. The programs keep growing every year, as the region’s aging population on a fixed income struggles to purchase affordable, nutritious food and find activities to combat loneliness. The county’s roughly $12 million budget for the programs can’t keep up with rising demand, even with hundreds of thousands of dollars in reimbursements for extra meals. The situation is leaving the programs in a financially unpredictable state…