HARLEM — When 62-year-old Harold Smith had a slip-and-fall accident at work three years ago, and was later laid off, he was unsure how he would spend his retirement days.
Six months ago, however, he said he found a daily purpose after stumbling upon the senior program at the Community Kitchen in West Harlem, a program run by Food Bank For New York City, at West 116th Street and Fredrick Douglass Boulevard.
“I come here and I still look forward to the day,” Smith said.
Smith, who previously worked in housekeeping at Mount Sinai Hospital, was among the more than two dozen men who were honored Friday at the organization’s Father’s Day event to celebrate the patrons, age 60 and over, who rely not only on the free meals daily, but the camaraderie and daily activities.
“It’s been a great experience because after I stopped working I didn’t have anything to do,” Smith said, who goes to the program five days a week. “They know that we’re fathers and they give us meals and thank us for being fathers.”
The organization often has fitness classes, arts and crafts activities and regularly takes its seniors on field trips to museums, movie theaters, city parks and a slew of other outdoors venues. It also provides financial assistance and helps in signing up for benefits, among other services.
One in six seniors rely on soup kitchens and food pantries to get by, the organization said. Several seniors also spoke of the program as a way to make connections with other Harlem residents and remain active in old age.
“You have a lot of senior programs [in the area] but you can’t beat this,” said Calvin Hicks, 63. “They go the extra yard for us.”
“You meet a lot of people from different walks of life.”
The Father’s Day event also gave the seniors the opportunity to get pampered and relax, with a number of Harlem businesses volunteering services.
Some local barbers provided haircuts, Cathedra Boutique Grooming Salon spruced up some of the patrons, eLo Lipcare provided some of its products and Harlem Haberdashery delivered new ties and shirts for the men.
The menu was also spruced up by the kitchen’s chef — Maxcel Hardy — who said he wanted to give the men a restaurant-style experience, which included braised short ribs and cauliflower mash as the main entree.
“We wanted today to be about them,” said Camesha Grant, the vice president of community connections and reach for the organization.
“For many of them it’s an opportunity to come out of their homes, where there often isn’t family, and come here and create a family.”
