Free groceries are available to senior Bernalillo County residents from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. the third Tuesday of every month at the Tijeras Senior Center located at 10 Tijeras Ave. in Tijeras.
Bernalillo County is partnering with Silver Horizons to provide the free food to senior residents and veterans.
Silver Horizons is an organization focused on providing assistance to seniors ages 50 years old or older who are struggling to afford basic resources such as food or utility bills.
People seeking assistance should bring proof of age or veteran status.
According to Silver Horizons, nearly 40 percent of the seniors the organization supports are raising grandchildren and most of the low-income seniors and veterans who turn to Silver Horizons for assistance live on less than $900 each month.
To qualify as low-income, the cut off for a senior citizen who lives alone is $1,255 monthly. Households with two people can make up to $1,703. Households of three people can make up to $2,152. Those with four people have an income cut off of $2,600 and those with five people are considered low-income if the household income is less than $3,048 monthly.
The Tijeras Senior Center is one of the six locations throughout the county where residents can get groceries. The food is available on a first-come, first-served basis and the senior center will open its doors 30 minutes prior to the scheduled start time, according to a press release from Bernalillo County.
Each eligible household can attend up to two of the free grocery events a month.
In addition to the Tijeras Senior Center, the other locations and dates are as follows:
- 10:30 a.m. to noon on the first Tuesday of each month at the Raymond G. Sanchez Senior Center, 9800 Fourth St. NW in Albuquerque
- 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month at the County Extension Building, 1510 Menaul Blvd. NW in Albuquerque
- 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. on the second Friday of each month at the South Valley Multipurpose Senior Center, 2008 Larrazolo Rd. SW in Albuquerque
- 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on the third Saturday of every month at the Paradise Hills Senior Center, 6001 Paradise Blvd. NW in Albuquerque
- 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. on the fourth Wednesday of each month at the Rio Bravo Senior Center, 3910 Isleta Blvd. SW in Albuquerque
More information is available by calling 505-314-0425.
People wishing to help by volunteering their time can sign up to assist with distributing groceries by visiting silverhorizons.org/volunteer-donate.