Carpinteria’s no-cost senior lunch program resumed Tuesday afternoon following a two-day pause, a site supervisor confirmed to Noozhawk.
The lunch program, also known as the Senior Nutrition Program, offers free lunches to seniors at several locations throughout Santa Barbara County. It is run by the Central Coast Commission for Senior Citizens.
Site supervisor Angela Paez said that the Carpinteria program was “back up and running” at the Carpinteria Veterans Memorial Building at 941 Walnut Ave.
She said on Monday night that staff had been notified that the kitchen they received food from “is no longer able to provide meals.”
City officials on Monday said they had been informed the program had been “canceled until further notice due to unforeseen circumstances.”
The city allows the commission to use space at the Veterans Memorial Building, but the city itself does not operate the program.
A notice posted to the door of the building on Monday also stated that the kitchen “we are getting the food from” could no longer provide meals.
The reason for the restart was not immediately available.
Commission representatives did not respond to a Noozhawk request for comment.
The program is open to residents ages 60 and up, those married to someone older than 60, and disabled dependents of someone who is older than 60.
In Carpinteria, it is open Monday through Friday from 12:15 p.m. to 1 p.m. It is largely staffed each week by volunteers. ID is not required, but participants must make a reservation.
Paez said the commission provides meals “for some of the most vulnerable in the community,” including homeless residents.
“Our gatherings promote a sense of belonging, while strengthening community bonds and reducing isolation,” Paez said.
The nonprofit commission had faced claims of financial mismanagement from the California Department on Aging, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reported in February.
It conceded its license from the department in January, but a representative told the Tribune last month the commission would continue providing services to seniors across the Central Coast.