Camden County Delivers More Than 191K Meals To Seniors In Need

CAMDEN COUNTY, NJ — More than 191,000 meals have been delivered to seniors since the Camden County Division of Senior and Disabled Services expanded its meal delivery program in response to the outbreak of the coronavirus, officials announced.

In total, more than 3,500 individual seniors have received nutritious meals as they navigate the unprecedented crisis represented by coronavirus. From June 18 to June 24, the Division delivered more than 13,800 meals countywide. Over this same span, the Division delivered an average of 3,454 meals per day.

“This has been an unprecedented expansion of a program that served just a few hundred residents prior to March 18,” Camden County Freeholder Jonathan Young said. “Thankfully, we have begun to see growth in new participants slow significantly but rest assured that if you are in need of meal assistance, we are standing by to help you get through this crisis. This wouldn’t be possible without the men and women at the Department of Health, Parks, Buildings and Ops, and all the other county employees who have stepped up to make deliveries. I will continue to repeat our thanks to them long after this pandemic has ended. They have shown incredible dedication to the health and safety of the people of Camden County, and have directly impacted thousands of lives over the past four months.”

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Meals have been delivered to seniors in 36 municipalities. On May 22, 4,950 meals were delivered to those facing food insecurity, the most of any day since the beginning of the current public health crisis. May 4 is the second highest single-day total, when 4,358 meals were delivered. On March 30, more than 4,000 meals were delivered.

The Division of Senior and Disabled Services is delivering meals to new program participants. Anyone who knows a senior in need of meal assistance should call 856-374-MEAL or 856-858-3220 to make arrangements.

See related: NJ Coronavirus Updates: Here's What You Need To Know