Care packages, meals get passed out to seniors

With the novel coronavirus preventing regular gatherings at area senior centers, Jason Wuliger, president of Nachson Ventures, teamed up with his family and others to donate food to senior citizens.

The donations occurred Aug. 31 at the Eastlake Senior Center, where the senior center staff also passes out meals they prepared for the seniors.

“With the impact of COVID-19, a lot of seniors are in a more difficult spot than they were in before,” Wuliger said. “A lot of seniors relied on senior centers for not only social interaction but also nutrition. This effort was born to try and relieve some of that.”

The senior center passed out 100 care packages filled with non-perishable foods prepared by Wuliger and his family, masks donated by RB Sigma in Mentor, and hand sanitizer donated from Custom Cleaning and Maintenance in Willoughby.

They are all in brown paper bags on top of weekly lunches provided by the senior center.

“In a community like ours, we have to take care of our seniors. We have to look out for them,” said Wuliger.

Eastlake Mayor, Dennis Morley said that the donations as well as the services at the center help keep senior citizens safe.

“A lot of people are by themselves and this is a help to them,” Morley said. “A lot of the seniors don’t want to go to the grocery store. With this they are in their car, they stay in their car, they’re given the food and they go home.”

Grace Giangiacomo, director of the Eastlake Senior Center, said that COVID-19 has caused the center to make changes to their daily protocol.

“Usually we have a congregate lunch every single day when we are open but because we are not they come here once a week and pick up a hot meal and four frozen meals for the week,” she said. “For some of the people, this is the only meal they get.”

Giangiacomo said there are other ways that seniors do get meals, which includes Meals on Wheels deliveries that deliver 390 meals a week.

She said that the virus not only impacts the chance for seniors to get proper nutrition but it also limits their social exposure.

“They come every day to socialize with these people,” Giangiacomo said. “To them this is there home. This is their family.”