Program to feed Chicago seniors gets $1 million boost from feds to double capacity

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Hot meals will be served up to more seniors in Chicago, thanks to $1 million in new federal funding.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin announced the new federal funding at the Chinese American Service League in Chinatown.

The league's senior meals program serves 300 seniors.

"They're a vulnerable population, seniors in general are, but in our culture, our seniors are our world," said Ald. Nicole Lee (11th), the first Asian American woman to serve on the Chicago City Council.

With the new funding, the Chinese American Service League says the program can double its impact, reaching 600 seniors daily, totaling approximately 9,000 meals per week, or nearly 500,000 a year.

"This new funding is a game changer for CASL and for seniors in Chicago's Chinatown community and beyond," Chinese American Service League CEO Paul Luu said in a statement.

The league will get the new funding on Oct. 1, when the new federal budget goes into effect. The league is already recruiting new staff to help expand the program, which should roll out this winter for vulnerable Black and Latinx seniors on the South and West sides.