By Joe Anuta
A Forest Hills-based nonprofit will once again handle the Meals on Wheels program for a portion of the borough, much to the delight of the community and a Queens lawmaker.
Queens Community House will take over the program, which is contracted out through the city Department for the Aging, and deliver food to elderly residents.
“I think people in our district are going to be happy you’re back,” Community Board 6 member Barbara Stuchinski said at a Sept. 14 meeting.
The Visiting Nurse Service of New York, another nonprofit, won the contract three years ago after the city held a request for proposals, according to Christopher Miller, a spokesman for the department.
But due to changes in federal funding of health programs, the service opted not to renew its contract and get out of the meals business, Miller said.
In response, the city offered the contracts to the organizations who applied during the RFP and were next in line, he said.
For the section of Queens encompassing Community Boards 4 and 6, the city called Irma Rodriguez, executive director of Queens Community House, who agreed to take over the program once again.
“We’re excited to be able to do it,” she said. “It’s a big deal.”
Queens Community House started a meal delivery program in the borough 28 years ago, according to Rodriguez.
“We delivered meals by foot and station wagon,” she said.
But the nonprofit was stripped of the duty after the RFP process three years ago.
The nurse service took over the program, but according to Rodriguez residents were not thrilled with the change.
“We experienced a lot of negative feedback in the beginning,” she said.
City Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills) also spoke at the meeting and said Queens Community House did a better job with the seniors.
“They delivered the meals on time and they knew the clientele … it was more of a personal touch,” she said. “I think this is a good thing.”
But many of the kinks with the Visiting Nurse Service were worked out within a month, according to Miller. And when Rodriguez takes over at the beginning of the year, seniors in the borough should not notice any interruption or drastic change in service.
The majority of them will receive daily hot meals at their homes, Miller said. And some will get the added bonus of human contact with drivers and delivery people.
“It’s not just a meal, we’re looking at the entire person,” Miller said.
But the department’s primary goal is to provide nutrition to seniors. The nonprofit will also deliver frozen meals to seniors who request them.
Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
