On a recent morning at the Northeast Community Center in Stockton, dozens of older adults fill their shopping bags with free groceries. There are pinto beans, cereal, cheese, yogurt, frozen cranberries, apples, a bag of fresh vegetables, and more.

By lunchtime, about 130 people will have stocked their pantries, thanks to Silver Harvest, a program of Second Harvest of the Greater Valley food bank. Second Harvest works with 20 partner program sites throughout San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties to distribute food twice a month to low-income adults 60 or older.

The program helps people like Irma Casarez make ends meet.  She’s a 75-year-old retired cannery worker on a fixed income who volunteers at the Stockton community center.

“The price of groceries is horrible,” Casarez said. “We get a good-sized bag of food. It’s not skimpy, so I don’t have to buy so much. It’s very helpful.”

Grants for food, housing, social connection

Second Harvest of the Greater Valley recently received a grant from a Kaiser Permanente fund at the East Bay Community Foundation to support Silver Harvest and expand the program to an additional site in Ceres, south of Modesto.

“Many seniors in our community are quietly going without meals to stretch their limited budgets,” said Kirsten Tavera, director of strategy and partnerships for Second Harvest. “Silver Harvest helps fill that gap, providing fresh produce, protein, and pantry staples that make it possible to eat regularly and with dignity.”

The funding for Silver Harvest was one of several grants Kaiser Permanente Northern California made this year through a fund at the East Bay Community Foundation to support the health of older adults.

The grants to community organizations included:

• Five grants totaling $450,000 to distribute food and reduce social isolation 
• Two grants totaling $145,000 to strengthen medical-legal partnerships that address housing needs 
• An $80,000 grant for programs aimed at building social connections and reducing isolation
• A $95,000 grant for advocacy and education to address gaps in access to health care and coverage 
• Three grants totaling $395,000 to increase the recruitment and training of in-home caregivers
• Seven grants totaling $830,000 to support family caregivers

Working together to support older adults

The number of older adults living in the United States is growing at an unprecedented rate, and California is no exception. One in 4 Californians will be over the age of 60 by the year 2030.

Kaiser Permanente Northern California has been working with government leaders and community partners to help address some of the most pressing issues facing older adults and their families.

“Our goal is to work together to strengthen the infrastructure that supports older adults to ensure we all can age with dignity — at home, in our communities, and within health systems,” said Yvette Radford, vice president, External and Community Affairs for Kaiser Permanente Northern California.

Surveys show that most Californians want to continue to live at home as they grow older, even if they need assistance. Most who need help are cared for by a family member or a friend. Often these caregivers are also working full- or part-time jobs, and the additional caregiving duties are exhausting them.

One of the Kaiser Permanente family caregiving grants will help the Family Caregiver Alliance, one of California’s 11 nonprofit caregiver resource centers, assist caregivers. That support includes respite care, support groups, care planning, and assistance in connecting with community services.

“The funding will help improve the lives of caregivers and the people who receive their care,” said Leah Eskenazi, director of operations and planning for the Family Caregiver Alliance. “When caregivers know there’s someone in their corner who can help them, we find they can think more clearly, and they feel less anxious and lonely.”