Editor's note: This story has been revised to correct the Mojos title and to provide more precise numbers and wording for some of the Marion Senior Services programs.

Joe Ann Langley was overjoyed to see Marion Senior Services staff members and volunteers deliver hot meals and kind words to senior residents at Harvey’s Fellowship Homes on Thursday as part of the pandemic-prompted Warm Meals, Warm Hearts program.

Marion Senior Services Meals Program Assistant Mandy Palmer climbed several sets of concrete stairs carrying large red insulated bags to deliver meals to apartments before she got to Langley’s location.

Palmer greeted Langley and gave her a hot meal of shepherd’s pie and green beans in a foam container. She also got a fruit cup. The food came courtesy of Mojos Grill & Catering.

“This is a blessing from the Lord,” said Langley, 67, a 10-year resident of the apartment complex, which is in the 1400 block of Northwest Fifth Street in Ocala.

“I think this is a wonderful thing they are doing, and I appreciate it. (The people delivering meals) make you feel comfortable,” Langley said.

Vivian Howard got her first meal delivery under the program when Palmer stopped by her Harvey’s Fellowship Homes apartment Thursday.

“(I) normally shop (but) I can’t get out,” Howard said, noting the recent stay-at-home orders and special cautions for seniors. Howard said the meal helped her out.

Volunteers Lisa Brown and her son Trevor walked throughout the apartment complex delivering meals.

“We saw a need,” Lisa Brown said.

Resident Evelyn Dallas smiled and spoke with volunteers who came to her front door to deliver her meal and spent a few minutes chatting and joking with her.

Marion Senior Services Nutrition Coordinator Angela Kinsler, volunteer Debra Kogelman and Cassandra Jackson, community care director, rounded out the delivery crew Thursday. They carried the insulated bags, weighing perhaps 30 pounds each, and offered residents a little ray of sunshine in the form of a kind word. Meals were delivered to about 40 residents at the 48-unit complex.

The Warm Meals Warm Hearts program kicked off May 4. It is a partnership among Marion Senior Services, the Florida Department of Elder Affairs, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulations and the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, according to literature from Marion Senior Services.

The Warm Heart Warm Meals program taps local restaurants as emergency providers and is financed by federal funds administered by the Department of Elder Affairs to provide food reassurance to Marion County’s nutritionally at-risk seniors, according to a Marion Senior Services release. Recipients must be age 60 or older.

Jennifer Martinez, Marion Senior Services executive director, said the 500-meals-a-week mark delivered to low-income senior housing facilities under the Warm Meals Warm Hearts program will be met this month.

Meals are currently delivered to registered seniors two days a week at Trinity Villas, Evangeline Booth Garden Apartments, Heritage Oaks of Ocala and Harvey’s Fellowship Homes.

A major component of the Warm Meals Warm Hearts program is letting seniors know someone cares, especially during the coronavirus era, Martinez explained.

“Senior isolation is not new to us, but the coronavirus conditions (such as the stay-at-home orders) shined a light on it. The Warm Hearts Warm Meals program provides more than a meal; it provides a human connection to show our seniors they have purpose and they are cared about,” Martinez said.

“That five minutes of ‘How are you?’ shows the seniors they are loved,” she said.

Marion Senior Services nutritional programs are sustained by $350,000 of federal funds from the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, allocated to Marion Senior Services through the Department of Elder Affairs, and $650,000 from the CARES Act, also allocated through DOEA.

Martinez said Marion Senior Services also has the Home Delivered Meals program (an average of 323 meals delivered each day), Congregate Meals Program (temporarily suspended due to COVID-19), and the Commodities Supplemental Food Program, which provides roughly 320 people essential groceries under a USDA program.

The congregate meals have been temporarily suspended during the pandemic.

Martinez said Marion Senior Services has about 300 volunteers who have ramped up for the new program, but more volunteers are always needed.

Jamie Green, catering director for Mojos, wrote in an email she "appreciates the support of MSS and the opportunity to interact with these wonderful members of our community."

"Our team is truly touched by this program and we look forward to delivering well balanced meals. It is our honor to be part of such a caring gesture," Green wrote. Mojos has four locations countywide.

The Warm Meals Warm Heart program is expected to increase to about 600 meals delivered a week when service is expanded to include congregate dining and additional areas of the county, including Ocklawaha and Weirsdale.

Two additional restaurants are scheduled to come online with the program: County Line Smokehouse & Spirits in Weirsdale and Kern’s Family Kitchen in Silver Springs.

Chris Wilson with County Line Smokehouse & Spirits will start preparing meals Tuesday and said he’s glad to help.

“We’re happy to partner with MSS and help the seniors in need. MSS is a great organization,” Wilson said. He said the restaurant will start with about 56 meals a week for the program.

Marion Senior Services Marketing & Fund Development Coordinator Jamie Williams stated in a text that with expansion of the Warm Meals Warm Hearts program in focus, “donations will be crucial for allowing the program to continue, expand and stay healthy.”

Jackson explained Marion Senior Services is also providing wellness checks by phone. That process has identified 38 people currently who may need help dealing with their feeling of isolation during the pandemic restrictions.

As one meal recipient at Havey’s Fellowship Home said: “I can’t get out.”

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