St. Mary's Food Bank makes food boxes for seniors during pandemic

PHOENIX - Volunteers at St. Mary's Food Bank have assembled special food boxes that are specially delivered to seniors.

"We want to make sure that seniors are taken care of during this time," said Jerry Brown, spokesperson for the Phoenix-based nonprofit. "People have dietary restrictions... the cereals are different, we have more juices in there for folks that need it -- so we try to gear the box more towards seniors."

Brown says seniors, who are especially vulnerable to the coronavirus, may need the most help, but many of them are doing what they can to stay safe during the pandemic, including staying at home. 

"While we've seen an increase in the total amount of people that are coming to the food bank, we have seen a decrease in seniors," Brown said. "We're delving into why that's the case. [It] could be that a lot of people are just afraid to go out at this point and afraid to get their food boxes."

Volunteers pack several thousand food boxes a day just for seniors, all of which will be delivered thanks to special partnerships.

"We're working with other organizations around the Valley to make sure that seniors get their boxes," Brown said. "Some people...do home delivery [so they] don't have to come to a main food bank with a lot of people in order to get their food boxes."

Want to volunteer to pack boxes? Visit their website: https://volunteer.firstfoodbank.org/calendar