SAN FERNANDO : Elderly Seek Closer Access to Hot Meals

Like many of the senior citizens living near Las Palmas Park, 91-year-old Jesus Solis says he has neither the money nor the energy to travel across town for hot meals.

So he is joining other members of the Las Palmas Senior Citizens Club and surrounding residents in a petition drive to persuade city officials to bring the senior nutrition program closer to home.

“It’s been years since I have been able to go get a hot meal,” said Solis, who stopped participating in the program when it moved from Las Palmas to the San Fernando Senior Center three years ago. “It’s much too far now.”

The Valley Interfaith Council runs the federally funded nutrition program at the senior citizen center on Park Avenue and serves about 70 meals a day, said Alma Patotzka, the council’s director of nutrition services.

Members of the senior citizens club, who say a lack of transportation prevented them from traveling to the center, want hot meals served at Las Palmas Park to accommodate residents on the west side of town.

Irma Perez, a resident who is helping the club organize the petition drive, said she wants to collect at least 300 signatures to present to the City Council on June 7.

Jess Margarito, the city’s director of recreation and community services, said he will recommend the expansion and outline options for funding in a report to the council.