New national program to provide social clubs and food security for the elderly

Centers will provide breakfast and hot lunch and enrichment activities as well as transportation to and from the centers three days a week.

By LIDAR GRAVÉ-LAZI
Elderly woman looks out of window [illustrative] (photo credit: Ivan Alvarado / Reuters)
Elderly woman looks out of window [illustrative]
(photo credit: Ivan Alvarado / Reuters)
The Welfare Ministry announced on Wednesday the launch of a NIS 16 million national project to renovate and upgrade senior citizens clubs to develop “social clubs with food security” for the needy elderly.
Nearly 100 local authorities submitted requests to participate in the project to establish and expand 114 elderly enrichment centers, of which 37 are in Arab administrative divisions.
The ministry approved all of the requests to date.
The centers will provide breakfast and a hot lunch alongside enrichment activities.
There will be transportation to and from the centers three days a week.
“The goal to reach the needy elderly and provide them a package that includes food security, first and foremost, and of course socializing activities.
This is welfare in every sense of the word, and I am happy that almost 100 authorities chose to participate in the project,” Welfare and Social Services Minister Meir Cohen said.
The authorities participating in the program are categorized as low and medium-high clusters, according to a scale developed by the Central Bureau of Statistics, ranking municipalities into clusters on a scale from one to 10, according to their socioeconomic situation. As such, the municipalities seek to expand and upgrade centers in impoverished neighborhoods with underprivileged populations.
In some of the administrative divisions, the project reflects the establishment of a new program and centers for the needy elderly, while in others the project reflects an expansion of services, such as providing a hot meal as opposed to a light snack.
The cost for elderly participants stands at NIS 45 per month with every club expecting 30 members.
In addition, the Welfare Ministry announced the approval to expand and upgrade nutritional menus for 15 centers for the blind elderly.