Cincinnati’s staple pizza chain LaRosa’s is teaming up with the Council on Aging to offer some comfort to some of the more vulnerable members of the community amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The restaurant is providing over 350 meals to six low-income seniors apartment buildings throughout Hamilton and Butler counties on April 16 and 17.
“We are all experiencing the effects of stay-at-home orders and social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, but seniors are feeling especially vulnerable and isolated right now,” said Council on Aging CEO Suzanne Burke in a press release.
“Our hope is that the LaRosa’s meals will be a welcome change of pace that brightens the day of seniors in these buildings. We couldn’t think of a better partner to have in this effort because Buddy LaRosa and his family have been long-time supporters of the county senior services levies we administer in our service area. In fact, Buddy was a caregiver himself,” she said.
The Council on Aging has been working hard to provide seniors with the services and support they need during the pandemic, as many are advised to stay home to avoid contracting the novel virus.
The Council on Aging is offering “carry-out” or home-delivered meals to their clients as well as delivering emergency food boxes which contain a 14-day supply of shelf stable foods that can be used in case their daily meals are at all disrupted by the virus.
This isn’t the first time the two have partnered. Last week during power outages caused by the April 9 storms, LaRosa’s and the Council on Aging worked together to serve the community, providing 115 meals for low-income older adults when the power was down.
“We had already been talking with LaRosa’s about how they could supplement the work our provider network does to feed seniors in our region during this pandemic,” said Randy Quisenberry, Council on Aging’s director of procurement and provider services, in the same press release.
“They were eager to help seniors through this difficult situation and last week’s power outages presented a great opportunity for partnership. LaRosa’s responded to our call for help quickly and enthusiastically. We are glad they want to continue to serve seniors in our region.”
The meals that will be delivered on Thursday and Friday will include LaRosa’s spaghetti and meatballs, breadstick, salad and condiments.
“These are such challenging times for everyone, but especially for seniors,” said Mike LaRosa, CEO of LaRosa’s. “We’re all in this together, and that’s how we’re going to get through it. So, we were happy to do our part to help Council of Aging serve these seniors.
This article appears in Apr 15 – May 5, 2020.