San Jose temporarily limited meals for older adults at city community centers in early December amid a budget shortfall — a move that left recipients flustered.
The San Jose Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services is responsible for administering meals through the Senior Nutrition Program at 13 community centers across the city. Its meals budget for 2023-24 was $3 million, but due to increasing demand the department encountered an unexpected $174,000 shortfall that could’ve lasted until the end of the fiscal year if Santa Clara County didn’t step in to cover the gap. The county, which funds the program, covered the shortfall after learning the parks department began capping the number of meals.
The department served 196,450 meals in fiscal year 2022-23 and 212,424 meals in fiscal year 2023-24. For this fiscal year, it has served 98,948 meals to date.
The city capped meals for a week across all sites, requiring older adults to sign up for meals online or in person beforehand. Meals at Gardner Community Center were limited to 20 a day, even though about 25 older adults show up on a regular basis.
Some older adults at Gardner Community Center left hungry last week after discovering the list was full.
“It made me feel like a second-class citizen,” Daniel Peralta, 80, told San José Spotlight when he found out that he would need to reserve a meal beforehand. He was able to reserve a spot in time, but was upset others didn’t get a meal.
County Supervisor Betty Duong, whose district includes the Gardner Community Center, said she would consider increasing the meal program’s budget next fiscal year to accommodate the growing need.
“I am always in favor of doing as much as the county can to address food insecurity in our community, not just among seniors but all residents,” Duong told San José Spotlight. “We do this with a general fund budget that is dependent on a lot of external factors that are not under our control, including the overall economy and fluctuating amounts of state and federal funding.”
Parks spokesperson Amanda Rodriguez said the city will continue to monitor how many older adults are getting meals at the community centers before determining if a budget increase needs to be requested.
“We will soon begin determining the number of meals required for the next fiscal year and are committed to ongoing collaboration with the county to continue providing healthy meals to seniors,” Rodriguez told San José Spotlight.
The parks department is on tap to lose millions in funding with the city’s decision to cut developer fees. It’s also facing a more than $554 million infrastructure backlog, according to a 2024 city status report.
Older adults at Gardner Community Center point to the temporary meal reservations as just one issue in the larger equation. They’ve had to bring their own cream and sugar for the coffee, and want more fresh fruits instead of the canned fruits that aren’t conducive for those with diabetes, as well as fresh meals instead of the frozen ones. Two weeks ago, the taxi service some residents rely on to bring them to the community center was suddenly discontinued.
“I need the company,” Gladys Zamora, who relied on the taxi services, told San José Spotlight. “The other day I was very depressed …because I didn’t know what to do. That’s the reason why I come here, because I feel very lonely.”
Some residents have been able to bring Zamora to the center on occasion, while others have resorted to taking an Uber when they can’t find a ride.
“They’re cutting back our services,” Peralta said. “If they’re going to do that, let us know in advance. Give us a heads up, but not just arbitrarily stop it right there.”
Contact Joyce Chu at [email protected], or @joyce_speaks on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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