Eating is essential for human life and food centered in the traditions of an individual brings warmness tied to sweet memories. Many do not understand the importance of nutrition and its impacts on the human body. According to Statistics Canada, many seniors are at a higher risk of going hungry, as adults in their later life are particularly vulnerable due to diminished appetite and impaired sense of taste, smell, and touch. Additionally, medication and diseases, mobility, and vision loss impact their ability to select the right foods. Financial constraints, eating alone, and the lack of support to shop and prepare nutritious meals contributes to a senior’s inability to eat healthy. COVID-19 has also played a huge role in making it challenging for many seniors in the community to exercise healthy eating.

To protect the vulnerable members of the community who have been detrimentally impacted by COVID-19, GCAO created the “Grocery on Wheels” program to provide culturally-centered groceries from Ghanaian stores to seniors and families with extremely low income.

Seniors and family members can request either meal delivery or pick up from a participating grocery store by completing the request form or calling the program coordinator at phone number. Once the registration is accepted, applicants can receive groceries once a month on Fridays or Saturdays by the “Grocery on Wheels” volunteers.

In the short time that we have been running this program, we have noticed a significant increase in demand for groceries. We are beyond grateful to Red Cross Canada for providing funding for the program and to the community volunteers who continue to provide weekly volunteer support to meet the needs of the seniors and families during these challenging times.