Indo-American Center’s New Golden Diners Program
Contributed by Nand Kapoor
Last updated: Feb 28, 2009

CHICAGO: Beginning the first week of February, the city of Chicago has begun its funding of the Golden Diners Program at the Indo-American Center (IAC), providing senior citizens, ages 60 and older, with hot lunches through grant money. These meals have replaced the previous meals that local restaurants either catered or donated. The Golden Diners Program provides meals Monday through Thursday and Saturday during the Seniors’ Program hours (12 - 3) in the Center’s Main Hall. Each attendee applies to join the program and is provided a city-issued identification card.

The coordinators of the program, Gita Chawla, the Seniors’ Program Coordinator, and Loknath Agarwal, the Civics Program Coordinator, noticed that the program had tremendous success in its first week of implementation. “On Monday, there were about 20 seniors who attended; by Thursday, there were 40,” Chawla commented. The program gives priority to senior citizens, but is also available to other IAC clients. “The seniors get priority, then non-seniors, and if there is food left, then the staff also enjoys a traditional meal,” Agarwal said.

The menu includes traditional South Asian regional food, the typical meal including lentil soup, rice, mixed vegetables, and flat bread. The cooks, Javnika Parikh and Yamini Choksi, sisters who still work part-time at Uru Swati, a local Indian restaurant, enjoyed their first week at the IAC. “We like cooking for a good cause,” they said. The meals they cook come from a specified menu, spanning three months, that was made by the IAC and approved by a City of Chicago dietician. Most of the groceries and ingredients come discounted, with free delivery, from Indian Food & Video. In comparison to the food that was formerly served at the IAC, the seniors are more content with the food from the Golden Diners Program. “That was restaurant food, this [the food from the Golden Diners Program] is a traditional, home-cooked meal – and it’s warm,” said Snehlata Shah, a senior who has been attending the Seniors’ Program for five years

The Indo-American Center is a not-for-profit community service organization serving the South Asian immigrant population. The mission of the Indo-American Center is to promote the well being of South Asian immigrants through services that facilitate their adjustment, integration and friendship with the wider society, nurture their sense of community, and foster appreciation for their heritage and culture.