Senior Nutrition Program Helps County Residents
Providing Santa Clara County older adults with healthy meals, fun activities, community and purpose
Anne Zhu felt alone after her husband passed away seven years ago. Her friends told her about the County of Santa Clara Senior Nutrition Program (SNP) in Sunnyvale. There, she found healthy meals, social activities, new friendships and family.
“This place is like a family and is full of love,” Anne says. “When I come here, I feel very happy, it’s not only for the food. It’s full of love and I have so many friends here. When my husband passed away, I felt alone. This is the best time to visit friends and other people.”
The County has provided older adults with nutritious meals and activities at SNP sites since 1973. The program started with 12 congregate meal sites, serving a total of 800 meals per day. Today, there are 37 meal site locations across Santa Clara County that serve more than 1.8 million meals a year.
“Our program is growing every single day and we’re serving the older adults in our community,” said Vandana Puri, program manager for the Senior Nutrition Program. “This program provides important services for adults in this community. It provides them healthy, nutritious and well-balanced meals, and opportunities to socialize with other older adults in the community.”
A nutritious, cost-effective and delicious meal
“My favorite is the fish, of course,” said Sunnyvale resident Quentin.
“The food is very good,” said clarinetist Edward of Mountain View.
“My favorite is the barbecue pork ribs,” added Bruce from Gilroy.
“This food here is the best,” quipped Mario from Morgan Hill.
The SNP ensures that seniors receive adequate nutrients to support their overall well-being. This helps them maintain a healthy weight, manage chronic conditions and prevent malnutrition.
“I’ve met all the seniors so it’s like cooking for my friends,” said Ingrid Byrd, head chef at the Morgan Hill Community Center. "I cook healthy foods at home and like to do that here, too. Plus, I get to use my creativity.”

Operated by the County of Santa Clara Social Services Agency and funded in part through the Older Americans Act Nutrition Program, the SNP supports nutrition services for older adults throughout the county. The Social Services Agency partners with cities and community groups to offer healthy meals for people 60 and older. All SNP meals are approved by registered dietitians to meet the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans and provide one third of the daily key nutrients for older adults.
“I used to have heartburn all the time. Since I’ve been coming here, I’m eating healthier and I’m feeling better,” said Kathy De La Cruz from Morgan Hill.
Activities for the body, and for the soul
Healthy meals are one component of the SNP. The program also offers a wide range of programs for seniors to participate in. There are activities for fitness, games, arts and crafts, music, line dancing, Chinese Chess, therapeutic exercises like Tai Chi, education, health check-ups and more.

“Every day they will come and dance. We have music playing all the time. It gets people up and moving, it's social, they get to talk to their friends and it’s a workout by dancing,” said Debbie Witt who has been the Sunnyvale site manager for the past nine years. “Who wouldn’t want to come here, right? It’s a friendly crowd and a fun atmosphere.”
“The seniors coming are enjoying each other’s company. It’s more of a social event,” said Ronald Nathan, chair of the SNP Board. “We offer chair yoga to help people who may be chair bound to get exercise. We also put a game cube so people could go bowling without going to a bowling alley.”
“I come here every day of the week,” said Edward. “I play in the band for the exercise, for the lungs and it keeps me in a good mood. It’s a good feeling to see the people dancing. Some of them are really good dancers. When I get a chance to dance, I try to imitate them.”
A community for seniors
The SNP continues to grow and hosted over 16,000 unique individuals who received meals in 2023. In addition to activities, many locations also provide referrals to local social services, such as legal assistance and health insurance counseling.
“It’s a great place to get a nice lunch, meet your local friends and dance if you want to,” said band member Jack Ford.

These sites provide opportunities for social interaction to reduce feelings of loneliness, and foster community among participants.
“This is a very nice service,” added Anne. “They know me, they knew my husband and they comforted me. They made me feel happy and not alone.”
People are eligible to participate if they are over 60 years old and live in Santa Clara County. They can learn more about the program at https://ssa.santaclaracounty.gov/food-assistance/meals-older-adults and find an SNP meal site at https://mymapscc.sccgov.org/Home/.