UBER Grant Drives Food to Table
Anchorage resident Trudy Brown said that because of the UBER ride service grant she has been able to stay on budget and put food in her pantry. (ROBERT DeBERRY/The Salvation Army)
Getting to and from appointments is problematic for a lot of elderly in Anchorage. Between scheduling around public transit, waiting for a taxi or feeling like a burden on family members the process can be daunting. What is more troubling is knowing that getting to and from the grocery store or doctor visits might mean not having food in the pantry.
For Anchorage resident Trudy Brown that was exactly the situation she found herself in. Between taxi cab expense and trying to use public transit, getting around the city is a huge hurdle.
Trudy said she tries to keep her shopping to only a couple times a month to cut down on trips but because of that using the public transit system is not a viable way to get her groceries home. She said the expense of calling a taxi does not really fit her budget.
“I am on a strict income and I am disabled so it gets real hairy if the transportation costs get high and if you waste it on a cab it really goes fast,” said Trudy. “I shop at Fred Meyer and it is $10 from here to there and if the traffic is bad it can go up to $15. Public transportation is impossible. I can’t carry all the stuff home.”
Trudy is part of The Alaska Salvation Army Older Alaskans Program (OAP). Through OAP and an UBER grant Trudy was able to turn her situation around.
According to OAP Program Director Terry Chubin the $5000 grant from UBER began in 2017 and has grown every month. “We Applied for the grant last fall and really got it going when I first got here in March,” she said. “On the second and third of this month we did 22 rides.”
Trudy was one of those 22 rides and she is grateful she can utilize the service because it literally is putting food on her table. She said because of some health issues she was going to the doctor’s office a lot and those trips were eating away at her fixed income.
“My taxi bill one month was almost $200. It was doctor visits and the hospital. It was a real bad month. It was just awful. It was adding up,” she said. “We went without groceries that month. It was that bad.”
For Trudy and many like her having to choose between medical treatment and groceries is a constant battle. Especially when those doctor visits stretch out over several days.
“For a while there I was real sick, and doctors were sometimes twice a week and sometimes two or three doctors until they got me figured out,” said Trudy. “I was having all these tests that couldn’t be done on the same day and I kept having to go back which was adding up.”
Trudy said on those months she just goes without food. “If it is a heavy doctor month, and sometimes they are heavy doctor months, I don’t eat. It is just staggering.”
Chubin agrees that the UBER grant is helping put food on the tables of Anchorage’s elderly. Not only in cost savings for transportation, but because of the ride service many of the OAP clients are able to get to places and get access to healthy food.
“It is foodbanks, grocery stores and farmers’ markets,” said Chubin. “The food bank has seniors that call and say, ‘I can’t get to the food bank because I don’t have any money for a taxi.’ So, the food bank is putting out the word and letting people know to call OAP if they cannot get a ride on the food distribution days to come get their food boxes.”
This is one way, said Chubin, that the grant and UBER are putting food on somebody’s table. “Which is the mission of OAP, that is to feed our seniors.”
According to Chubin seniors will use their senior coupons for the senior nutrition program at some of the farmers’ markets. “So, we will get them to the farmers’ market where they can get fresh vegetables. They are just really excited about it.”
Chubin also said that the ride service is providing some elderly the opportunity to just get out of their apartments and homes and be around others. “We have some of our Alaska Native elders who are able to go to the Elders Program for lunch. They get to go to a congregate meal site and are able to socialize and get out of their home and have a hot meal.” Which, according to Chubin, is very important to the elderly population.
For Trudy the service brings her peace of mind. “Like I said it is incredible. I definitely recommend this to others. It has made things so much easier and cheaper.” Trudy also adds that the service is dependable, the drivers are nice and don’t have a chip on their shoulders. “They don’t look down on you.”
Trudy said deciding between food and medical care would be at the forefront of her daily decisions if it were not for the ride service. She said that one thing is for sure though, if it were not for UBER she would have to go back to using taxis.
Chubin said that because of the UBER program people like Trudy can get to the food bank, get their senior boxes, get to the doctor and have a social life. She said those are things that this provides. Without UBER stepping in to help a lot of people might go without.