NAPS Program Distributes Food To Low-Income Seniors in Brainerd

Local seniors are driving away with a box full of free food.

“And then, they put the box in the trunk for us which is really good and handy,” said participant Elizabeth Coolidge.

This help is thanks to the Nutrition Assistance Program for Seniors in Brainerd.

“It’s just that little extra that seniors can use because a lot of us with our medication and everything is expensive, so having something like this to look forward to every month and when we open it we get different vegetables and different fruits, so I really do like it and I think it’s wonderful,” Coolidge said.

Local seniors that participate in the NAPS program receive a 30-pound box of food once a month.

“They tend to rotate things so they don’t get the same things every month,” said Sandy McKay, the NAPS Program Coordinator.

Volunteers serve numerous distribution sites in central Minnesota, including the newest location at the Sharing Bread Soup Kitchen.

“It’s fun and we enjoy all of the volunteers, we enjoy all of the people that come in and it’s helping people and we like to help whenever we can,” said Donna Galbreath, a local volunteer.

The program is available to help seniors who are 60 years and older, are Minnesota Residents and are income eligible.

“When we see them at the distributions they are always friendly, and you get to know them and develop a relationship with them and it is really satisfying,” McKay said.

And that goes for volunteers and participants alike.

“Absolutely, as long as I can I will be here,” Galbreath said.

The NAPS Program is made possible by a partnership with the Second Harvest Food Bank, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Minnesota Department of Health.