PENNSYLVANIA, USA — The Salvation Army of Lebanon is launching a new partnership to deliver food to seniors in need.
Working with the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, the Salvation Army is the largest distributor of senior food boxes in Lebanon County, serving about 260 seniors.
“I know they appreciate it,” said Lt. Ivonne Rodriguez of the Lebanon Salvation Army. “When they call back, ’Thank you very much!’ It’s rewarding. So it’s just about love. We love them.”
The food box program usually requires seniors to pick up their monthly box at the Salvation Army. Some, however, are homebound for a variety of reasons, including lack of transportation and fear of being exposed to the coronavirus in public.
In the past, Salvation Army staff worked overtime to drive food boxes to the homebound. Rodriguez said when she couldn’t go herself or find any volunteers, she would ask her husband or son.
Now she won’t have to find any more volunteer drivers.
Salvation Army is joining with delivery company DoorDash to drive the food boxes to homes. The partnership is part of the company’s Project Dash, which helps deliver food to those in need in more than 900 cities.
“We just drop it off in front of their house and they don’t have to get out. So many things are happening right now. So I think it’s a blessing,” Rodriguez said. “It’s very important that we serve them, that we know that they need some help. To show them love. That we do care.”
Food box deliveries began in Jan. and the Lebanon Salvation Army will continue to receive the food from the Central Pa. Food Bank the second Thursday of each month.
Once the boxes are prepared, DoorDash will deliver boxes to the seniors on the next two consecutive Tuesdays, with half the recipients receiving a box on each of those days. Deliveries will arrive between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.
In addition to the Senior Box Program held year-round, the Lebanon Corps also holds Second Harvest, which provides food to families in need twice a month, September through May.
For more information on these programs, visit the website at www.salvationarmylebanon.org or call (717) 273-2655.