By Gustave Keach-Longo, President, The Towers

Well before the pandemic, The Towers was tackling food insecurity among the Greater New Haven community’s senior population. They identified many seniors in their care who needed access to on-site nutritious meals; reasons stemmed from being unable to physically cook for themselves, manage the planning and traveling to and from the grocery, or afford the meals. The arrival of the pandemic only made needs around food more pronounced.

The Towers’ goal was to find a long-term solution to this chronic problem. They found a way to make significant strides toward helping seniors afford meals through The Towers’ own kosher kitchen.

“We are delighted to announce that The Towers Foundation purchased a ‘Co-Generator’ that will provide approximately 40% of the energy (heat and electricity) needed to run the Tower One side of our building. This one-time investment will provide 25 years of energy savings that will then enable us to subsidize our residents’ out-of-pocket costs for the meals provided through our kitchen. This project also is a green initiative that will be good for our environment and our neighborhood,” Gustave Keach-Longo, President/CEO.

When the pandemic hit in March, The Towers began feeding all residents three nutritious meals daily through their contactless delivery process, regardless of the residents’ ability to pay. The Towers used the resources at hand to help residents while reducing risk, exposure and transmission. Immediately, 198 residents took advantage of the subsidized meals. The meal subsidy program will continue through September 2021, when The Towers will begin seeing the benefits and savings from the Co-Generator. The funds are predicted to subsidize approximately 67 residents to start and as many as 92 residents in the future. The effort brings them closer to their initial goal of offering subsidies to the 120 residents they identified as having the need for on-site meals and lacking the funds to cover the costs.

The Towers is grateful to the Jewish Federation and Jewish Foundation’s COVID-19 Maimonides Response Fund for their support. They also give thanks to the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven/United Way Fund, The Yale University Community Fund and The William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund.

The Towers thanks community leaders Barry Vine and Joel Karp for their help with the Co-Generator purchase. Thank you also to the SWF Foundation for their matching dollars to help reach the $175,000 initial goal. The Towers is still raising the final dollars needed for the Co-Generator and could use the community’s help to fill the remaining gap.

To help, contact Jennifer Bayer at jennifer@towerlane.org or (203) 772-1816, x290.