QCH Comment on Commissioner Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez’s Announcement of Increase in Home-Delivered Meals Reimbursement Rate

“We strongly applaud the announcement made today by Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez, Commissioner of the NYC Department for the Aging (DFTA), at a hearing before the City Council’s Committee on Aging, that DFTA and the NYC Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will be increasing the per meal rate for home-delivered meals to $10.68 per meal starting January 1, 2022, and to $11.78 per meal starting July 1, 2022.

“The DFTA rate has long been below the national level, leaving the home-delivered meals program underfunded and under-resourced for too long. This is an important step toward reaffirming NYC’s commitment to the health of its homebound older adults.

“On behalf of Queens Community House (QCH), we thank Commissioner Cortés-Vázquez, NYC Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Melanie Hartzog, and OMB Commissioner Dr. Jacques Jiha for their leadership in making this happen. QCH has been advocating for this increase for more than two years, as the previous rate caused unsustainable financial losses for many community organizations such as ours. Thanks also to LiveOn NY and United Neighborhood Houses (UNH), and to all of the NYC providers who advocated for this increase. Most importantly, we are happy and relieved on behalf of our homebound older adults who can now continue to rely on this greatly needed food resource.” – Ben Thomases, QCH Executive Director

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Queens Community House (QCH) is a multi-service settlement house committed to serving the diverse neighborhoods of Queens. QCH serves more than 25,000 children, youth, adults, and older adults every year. Our mission is to provide individuals and families with the tools to enrich their lives and build healthy, inclusive communities. Through a broad network of programs operating out of 34 sites in 14 neighborhoods, we offer Queens residents a needed support system at every stage of life, helping them to develop the knowledge, confidence, and skills to change their lives for the better and become active participants in their larger community.

CONTACT: 

Thomas Cruz 

Director of Communications 

Queens Community House 

tcruz@qchnyc.org