Community Health Lifestyle & Culture

Food and fellowship at a senior center

By Eliana Mercedes

The green sign at the entrance lists what Greenwich House Center offers: Lunch, arts, music, culture, crafts, games, health, well-being, friends and fun. 

June Grancio, 85, participates in several of those activities. Especially, she loves the friendships  and the Tuesday shopping trips to the supermarket. 

Sometimes, she dines there at the center. But Grancio, who lives in the same building as Greenwich House, doesn’t rely solely on those Monday through Friday meals. But that food, she added, is critical for many older adults who are regulars at the center.

“We have all income levels there,” Grancio said. “And what happens is, at the end of the day, if there is any food left over, rather than throwing it out, they offer it to anyone who brings their own container.” 

Feeding America’s “Map the Meal Gap 2025” report estimated that more than 12 million U.S. adults 50 years and older were food insecure. 

In New York City, almost half of the 1.8 million adults who are aged 60 and older didn’t get enough nutritious food, according to an analysis by City Meals and the City University of New York Urban Food Policy Institute. Sixty percent of older New Yorkers who get a daily meal delivered to their homes still remain food insecure. Forty-one percent of those adults said they were sometimes or never able to shop for groceries, while 38% had a limited ability to prepare food and 15% were never able to cook.

Not having enough good food makes people more prone to having diabetes, depression, heart disease and other illnesses. Those realities are part of why Greenwich House has grown to a network of four older adult centers in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn, said Laura Marceca, director of older adult community programming at the organization. The locations serve a total of 500 meals every day.

“The program has grown significantly over the years,” Marceca said. “We have received increased funding, which has allowed us to expand services, serve more participants, increase meal availability and strengthen our overall impact in the community.”

At Greenwich House’s Washington Square North location, lunch is offered from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. The New York City Department of Aging nutrition staff approves the menus, which vary from month to month. The July 2026 meals included a variety of vegetables, grains and protein, even offering a vegetarian option. 

Those meals haven’t always been to her liking, Grancio said. Some meals are fairly good. But at other times she usually chooses yogurt or milk. 

Recently, a new caterer came aboard. And center staffers consistently work to refine its offerings. Beyond that, Marceca said, “I’d like to expand access to meals and healthy snacks, think beyond the traditional lunch or brunch model by offering food in nontraditional settings and develop innovative ways to reach people where they are.”

No matter what’s on the menu, Grancio said she plans to keep showing up. “Oh, God,” she said. “ … It’s a big social experience. I have made some wonderful friends … It’s a camaraderie down there and a warm feeling I have for the senior center.”