SAN FERNANDO : City OKs $13,700 for Lunches for Elderly

For the past month, senior citizens have meekly approached the microphone and asked the San Fernando City Council for a few more lunches at Las Palmas Park. On Monday night, their entreaties paid off in an unexpected way.

Moved to the point of generosity, the council approved far more than was asked for--$13,700 that not only will provide more low-cost lunches for the hungry seniors, but also expand the program to five days and add a paid staffer to help serve them.

The council had intended to vote on a relatively modest proposal that would have injected $9,500 into the program, which serves lunches for $1.25 a plate three days a week.

But after appeals such as the one from Ramona Rodriguez, the council came through with more.

“I’m so sorry to have to bring this to you gentlemen or ladies,” she said. “We waited for another week. We maybe can wait another week. I don’t know. People are still coming. . . . I’m not demanding, I’m just asking for more food for Las Palmas Park.”

Councilman Jose Hernandez later told Rodriguez that maybe she should be more demanding. Then he pushed the council to ignore its original proposal and vote more funding. “It seems to me we have talked about it enough,” said Hernandez. “I would like for us to decide: Are we going to feed these seniors or not? I don’t want to send (the proposal) back. I think the seniors are tired.”

The council answered his question with unanimous approval of the more generous outlay.