TOAST OF TOWN
Local philanthropist teams up with charity and caterer to feed seniors in SRO hotels
Being cooped up indoors during the COVID-19 crisis is tough on everyone, but especially for seniors living in “single room occupancy” (SRO) hotels.
So philanthropist Frank Giustra has teamed up with the charity Streetohome and Savoury Chef Foods to feed them.
“In this initiative we’re producing 5,880 meals in 14 days for seniors living in SROs,” said Savoury Chef’s president Anna Wallner. “Seniors who have been identified as being particularly isolated right now — not feeling comfortable going out to grocery stores and wherever else they access their food.”
Giustra said the project has two benefits — feeding seniors, and providing employment when people need it.
“A lot of things are being shut down,” said Giustra, who is CEO of the Fiore Group of Companies. “The hospitality industry has been the worst hit. You’ve got all of these hotels and restaurants and catering companies that all of a sudden are out of business.
“Then you have a group of people that are vulnerable. The elderly are the first ones we focused on — they’re confined to their homes because they’re most susceptible to catching the virus if they’re out and about. So I thought, ‘Why don’t we combine these two needs? You’ve got all this spare capacity and groups, why not find where the demand is?’ ”
Giustra has been instrumental in raising funds for
Streetohome, which works on homeless issues. Streetohome then turned to Savoury Chef, a catering company that was already providing 1,000 meals a week for two SROs operated by Rain City Housing.
“In a time like this we’re able to quickly pivot and expand that program,” said
Wallner. “We already had the systems in place to create and deliver these sorts of meals.”
Savoury Chef is producing two meals a day for 210 seniors in six privately owned SROs, mainly in Vancouver’s troubled Downtown Eastside.
“We’re doing a breakfast, which is like an omelette, French toast and sausages,” said Wallner. “The dinner-focused meal is anything from chicken cordon bleu to a beef ravioli, we have a vegetarian chili. So it’s a rotating menu, and each meal is 24 ounces.
“We are trying to provide something that is nutritious, high-quality and calorie-rich.”
The seniors’ program happened quickly — Giustra conceived it Thursday, Lara Dauphinee of the Fiore Group enlisted Streetohome, and the first meals were delivered Monday.
Giustra is looking to do more work locally during the COVID-19 crisis.
“We don’t know how long this crisis is going to last,” he said. “But the idea is to make sure that this program stays in place during the course of the crisis, No. 1, and to expand it to other areas where it’s needed, as we identify other groups that need the service.”
He’s hoping to get other funders on-board as the program expands, and has been heartened by the support he’s already got. “Yesterday when we announced (the initiative), I had a whole bunch of my friends going, ‘Can we help deliver?’” he said. “People really want to help, they really want to get involved.”