MALDEN, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — One of the oldest restaurants in Malden has been ramping up its senior citizen food delivery service to meet an increased demand during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Neil Sullivan, the owner of Cornucopia Foods, tells WBZ's James Rojas that throughout the pandemic, “café retail sales plummeted," while "delivering meals skyrocketed," as many elderly residents have been forced to stay isolated from the public.
The business worked with the Mystic Valley Elder Services in Malden for Thanksgiving — preparing nearly 170 turkey dinners, and they expect the demand will be even higher for Christmas.
Cornucopia Foods was originally established as a senior food delivery service in 1997, eventually opening the Pleasant Street business in Malden Square in 2002.
"The thing that started my business has saved my business during this pandemic,” Sullivan said.
The café also has a program to deliver groceries to seniors, which has also seen an increased demand during the pandemic.
"People [were] asking if we can deliver more days than just Friday, so we do a light fare on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday,” Sullivan said.
In light of the holiday season, Sullivan has started a program called "Giving Holiday," with the goal of donating 100 meals this year.
“We’re asking anybody if they would like to donate one meal to help out," he said. "And that’s doing much better than I ever thought, so again it just shows you how bad things are."
Those who want to help out with the program can do so online.
WBZ NewsRadio's James Rojas (@JamesRojasWBZ) reports.
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