Another Santa Fe Moment: Low Income Seniors Left Hungry

The Commodity Supplemental Food Program and the Senior Van Service here in the City Different are blocking more than one senior, who cannot drive or is homebound, from receiving their commodities. The Senior Van Service, operated by the City of Santa Fe, has a new policy for commodities enacted in 2011.  Under this new policy all seniors are now denied rides to the Senior Commodities Program, which has a monthly distribution center at the rodeo grounds, stating that the Commodity Supplemental Food Program service delivers the commodities to the seniors who cannot drive or are otherwise homebound. The Commodity Supplemental Food Program has one person that legally delivers to 90 seniors.  This list has been full for the entire year, since they first received a small grant to deliver commodities to seniors who are “homebound.”  They will not add more seniors over their case load of 90 permanently to the delivery list.

So in the event that the Commodity Supplemental Food Program’s list fills up, and is only meant for homebound seniors, why can’t the Senior Van Servicetake seniors who are able enough to get there with transportation, but who cannot drive themselves to pick up their commodities? Their website still states that “Every third Tuesday of the month, rides for commodities, medical appointments, and lunch at senior centers are given top priority.”  http://www.santafenm.gov/index.aspx?NID=413


Another senior has stated that while attempting to access the monthly distribution center at the rodeo grounds on foot, due to being truly poor and unable to afford a car, they were turned away. Apparently the Commodity Supplemental Food Program as well as the Food Depot, which both distribute food by drive-through only, are more geared towards an upper-class poor that have family to drive them, or who can afford an automobile.



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