Office on Aging delivers meals to 451 seniors daily

12/09/2024 - 451 elders on Saipan receive meals delivered by the Office on Aging’s Home-Delivered Meals program. Their staff delivers meals prepared by a caterer under nutritional guidance and is closely monitored by staff for quality once a day from Monday through Friday.

“I deliver about 53 meals [a day]…We go through just about every village on the island,” said Albert Deleon Guerrero, one of the bus drivers for the Office on Aging. He told Marianas Press his daily route takes him to nine different villages. “It gets pretty chaotic at times trying to get those meals delivered in a timely basis,” Deleon Guerrero said. 

Judy Arriola, a Community Development Technician at the Office on Aging, said those who qualify for the program are seniors 60 years or older, unable to prepare meals for themselves, and homebound due to physical and medical circumstances. Arriola said the office’s dietitian helps prepare the menu in line with national guidelines. 

For Deleon Guerrero, delivering the meals is also a chance to connect with the island’s elders and check in on how they are doing. He said, “It gives us a chance to have that time to share.”

Arriola added, “Sometimes they just want to interact with you, talk to you. Just show them love and care. That is all that matters to them…We love to see them giving us a big smile on their face.”