Stacie Mack, Director of Model Cities Senior Wellness Center, holds up a Model Cities t-shirt with Mary Lazare, the federal Director of the Department of Aging and Community Living
“This Is My Happy Place!”
That’s what the members of Model Cities Senior Wellness Center told our guests from the Federal Department of Aging and Community Living (ACL) last week.
March is National Nutrition Month, and ACL chose Model Cities as the place to see how federal dollars were Serving Up Solutions for older adult nutrition.
The highest levels of leadership in older adult funding were deeply impressed by what they saw at Model Cities. Increasing access to Good Food is a core pillar of Seabury – not only did our guests see a Center bustling with activity (everything from the Older Blind Program to a barre room for our own MC Steppers!), but they were able to see how increasing access to healthy food is woven throughout programming:
- A free lunch program for all DC residents over 60
- Nutrition education 2x/week, with a weekly cooking demo
- A community garden designed and cultivated by members
- Group transportation to additional food resources and affordable grocery stores around the District
Clockwise from left: Director Lazare posing with Stacie Mack and two members of Model Cities; ACL, DACL, Seabury staff, and guests; Ward 5 Dietitian Sunithi Selveraj teaching members about the new dietary recommendations for Americans; Seabury CEO Dawn Quattlebaum hosting lunch with national, state, and local experts on older adult nutrition challenges and opportunities
We were also able to host an impromptu lunch with our ACL guests, and invited our DACL partners, LeadingAge DC, and national experts from Meals on Wheels and the National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs to talk about the challenges and opportunities facing seniors in this historic moment – more than 1 in 10 DC older adults are food insecure.
One particular brightspot: we were proud to lift up the Seabury Connector as an innovation in connecting isolated seniors with food resources. In FY25 we provided over 500 trips connecting people to resources like Martha’s Table or Capital Area Food Bank’s Silver Market.
In FY26, we are looking forward to announcing (soon!) another innovation which will almost double the number of trips made with seniors, connecting them with resources that will improve their access to Good Housing, Good Food, Good Community, and Good Resources.
Stacie Mack, Dawn Quattlebaum, DACL Director Charon Hines, and ACL Director Mary Lazare celebrate the impact that Model Cities Senior Wellness Center is making in the lives of older adults and the Ward 5 community.