{"id":73887,"date":"2025-11-29T02:18:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-29T02:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/73887\/"},"modified":"2025-11-29T02:18:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-29T02:18:15","slug":"long-beach-seniors-receive-thanksgiving-meals-thanks-to-local-health-insurance-agency-press-telegram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/73887\/","title":{"rendered":"Long Beach seniors receive Thanksgiving meals thanks to local health insurance agency \u2013 Press Telegram"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than 700 seniors in Long Beach received a warm Thanksgiving meal this week, thanks to a longstanding tradition of SCAN Health Plan employees coming together to make it possible.<\/p>\n

SCAN employees and their families gathered at the health insurance agency\u2019s headquarters in Long Beach on Wednesday, Nov. 26, to assemble and deliver the meals to older adults living in eight senior residential communities across the city.<\/p>\n

With 1 in 4 Los Angeles County residents experiencing food insecurity and isolation among seniors on the rise, SCAN\u2019s effort brought both nourishment and companionship to Long Beach residents who might otherwise have spent the holiday alone, officials said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know how detrimental social isolation is for older adults,\u201d said Pedro Carbajal-Madrid, clinical director for SCAN\u2019s Independence at Home program, which spearheads the event. \u201cIt really impacts their overall health, and so we want to make sure that we bring a meal, because we worry that some of them may go through the holidays without a Thanksgiving meal. Along with that, we want to bring a cheerful message.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each meal bag included a complete Thanksgiving feast, with turkey, mashed potatoes, vegetables, a piece of bread and a slice of pie, as well as a handmade card.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s heartwarming to be able to give back,\u201d Jackie Soriano, supervisor for Independence at Home\u2019s Homeless Services Program, said. \u201cI\u2019m really happy that we have a lot of volunteers to be able to be here today; being part of the committee and being able to plan it was joyful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Gerry<\/p>\n

Gerry Esterly receives a Thanksgiving meal in Long Beach on Wednesday, November 26, 2025. Approximately 750 meals will be personally delivered to seniors living in eight Long Beach senior buildings. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"From<\/p>\n

From left, volunteer Kelly Peters delivers a Thanksgiving meal to Marshall Martell in Long Beach on Wednesday, November 26, 2025. Approximately 750 meals will be personally delivered to seniors living in eight Long Beach senior buildings. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"From<\/p>\n

From left, volunteer Kelly Peters delivers a Thanksgiving meal to Gerry Esterly in Long Beach on Wednesday, November 26, 2025. Approximately 750 meals will be personally delivered to seniors living in eight Long Beach senior buildings. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Independence<\/p>\n

Independence at Home Clinical Director Pedro Carbajal-Madrid welcomes volunteers to SCAN Health Plan Headquarters in Long Beach on Wednesday, November 26, 2025. Volunteers will pack approximately 750 meals that will be personally delivered to seniors living in eight Long Beach senior buildings. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Mila<\/p>\n

Mila Lilien of Independence at Home helps assemble and bag Thanksgiving meals in Long Beach on Wednesday, November 26, 2025. Approximately 750 meals will be packed and personally delivered to seniors living in eight Long Beach senior buildings. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"From<\/p>\n

From left, volunteers Kelly Peters and Jonille Torres unload Thanksgiving meals in Long Beach on Wednesday, November 26, 2025. Approximately 750 meals will be personally delivered to seniors living in eight Long Beach senior buildings. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Volunteer<\/p>\n

Volunteer Kelly Peters loads Thanksgiving meals into her car in Long Beach on Wednesday, November 26, 2025. Approximately 750 meals will be personally delivered to seniors living in eight Long Beach senior buildings. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Volunteers<\/p>\n

Volunteers help assemble and bag Thanksgiving meals at SCAN Health Plan Headquarters in Long Beach on Wednesday, November 26, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Volunteers<\/p>\n

Volunteers help assemble and bag Thanksgiving meals at SCAN Health Plan Headquarters in Long Beach on Wednesday, November 26, 2025. Approximately 750 meals will be packed and personally delivered to seniors living in eight Long Beach senior buildings. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Volunteers<\/p>\n

Volunteers help assemble and bag Thanksgiving meals at SCAN Health Plan Headquarters in Long Beach on Wednesday, November 26, 2025. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 10<\/p>\n

Gerry Esterly receives a Thanksgiving meal in Long Beach on Wednesday, November 26, 2025. Approximately 750 meals will be personally delivered to seniors living in eight Long Beach senior buildings. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Press-Telegram\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

Other employee volunteers were also happy to help seniors in the Long Beach community have full hearts and stomachs for the holiday. While some volunteers helped pack the meal bags, others drove around the city to help deliver them to seniors\u2019 front doors. The meals were delivered across eight Long Beach senior residences, including Cityview Apartments.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been a blessing because a lot of people look forward to this,\u201d said Esteban Rodriguez, resident service coordinator at Cityview. \u201cWe\u2019re just very grateful for all the help Independence at Home provides.\u201d<\/p>\n

Independence at Home is SCAN\u2019s community service branch, providing no-cost programs, support and resource referrals for older adults and caregivers, according to its website. The agency\u2019s employees visit senior residences, such as Cityview, and provide programs like technology assistance and more, Rodriguez said.<\/p>\n

At the residences, volunteers divided the hundreds of meals to begin distributing them to each senior\u2019s home.<\/p>\n

Marshall Martell, a 22-year resident at Cityview, said it was \u201cfantastic\u201d that Independence at Home and SCAN provided meals for older adults like himself for the holiday, as his daughter and three grandsons spent Thanksgiving in their home in Reno, Nevada. Martell said he would enjoy his meal while watching football on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really appreciated,\u201d he said. \u201cI shop, I cook but if I don\u2019t have to, that\u2019s cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gerry Esterly, a 20-year resident at Cityview, shared similar sentiments.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will always appreciate a meal, because I cooked for a lot of years,\u201d Esterly said while smiling, and remembering even brining a turkey in her bathtub. \u201cI really appreciate it and SCAN has always been there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Esterly said she would enjoy her meal and on Thanksgiving would spend time with her family. She especially enjoys being with her great-grandchildren.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, it doesn\u2019t become more real than an event like this, providing that support to older adults and their families,\u201d Carbajal-Madrid said. \u201cIt really is this type of event that is really what the company is all about, making sure that we support the people that help build our community.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than 700 seniors in Long Beach received a warm Thanksgiving meal this week, thanks to a longstanding…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":73888,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[7,179,23,131,133,132,137,15398],"class_list":{"0":"post-73887","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-long-beach","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-community","10":"tag-local-news","11":"tag-long-beach","12":"tag-long-beach-headlines","13":"tag-long-beach-news","14":"tag-los-angeles-county","15":"tag-thanksgiving"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73887\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}