From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., people supported by Day Services are making a meaningful impact in their community by becoming volunteers. Among the most popular activities is grocery shopping for seniors across Nassau County.

Coordinated by AHRC activity specialists, the volunteer project offers an essential, free service to seniors, while supporting volunteer’s socialization and skills development.

Once a shopping request is received by Sue Limiti, Activity Specialist, small groups of Day Service volunteers head to the client’s home, confirm the list, then head off to shop.

“All the sites are able to do it,” Sue said. “We’re helping out and we’re building a nice relationship with local seniors. They’re very grateful and I wish we could support more.”

Currently, activity specialists coordinate food shopping services for 20 seniors. The list of food shopping clients was developed mainly through referrals from mission-driven organizations like Catholic Charities. New partners and seniors are welcome to request support by emailing slimiti@ahrc.org.

For people supported by Day Services, it is a pleasure to offer a helping hand.

“We do our best to get the things that they want,” Micheal Nissenfeld said. “I like going down different aisles and getting familiar with the food and stuff.”

Micheal enjoys food shopping and is always eager to volunteer when the occasion to take a trip comes up. “It gets me out of the house,” Micheal said.

Micheal receives services from Site 5 in Freeport. He regularly goes on shopping trips with a group of peers and Derrell Dorch, DSP.

“Me and [Derrell], we go way back,” Micheal said. “We’ve been friends a long time.”

Derrell has been with the agency since 2003 and joined the Freeport location in 2021. For the past year he has shopped with people from Site 5  and developed a productive routine.

Shopping trips may take anywhere from fifteen minutes to one hour and Derrell likes to give people supported ownership of the task.

“When we get into the supermarket, I go over the list and I explain, like ‘I’d like you to stay in the bakery,’ this person will do the deli, and someone else will do produce or something like that,” Derrell said.

Those who may need extra support stay with Derrell and look for the remaining items together. Though not everyone is able to shop independently, Derrell still empowers everyone to contribute as much as possible.

“They’re with me but they’re still able to obtain certain items,” Derrell said.  “Even if I’m pointing to it or say it. They’ll identify the items.”

Derrell’s approach emphasizes skills building  for the men and women at Site 5. They are well regarded by clients and feel appreciated at every delivery.

“That comes from the engagement we have prior to leaving their homes, and then us returning,” Derrell said. The Freeport crew mainly services clients on Long Island’s south shore.

With over 40 Day Services locations across Long Island, there are many opportunities for people to benefit from this initiative. Sue welcomes more clients and is happy to coordinate trips for seniors.

Although the main service is food shopping, they handle other requests for customers, including pharmacy pickups and medical equipment including gloves and heating pads.

“It’s not limited to food,” Sue said. “We had a person that orders catered food. We pick it up at the place that caters it and we bring it to her house.”

The Day Services team looks forward to expanding their client list. The shoppers support seniors and it’s also great for people returning from rehabilitation or recovering from surgery, who may benefit from the temporary service.

“They can call or email me, and I will put them in touch with the right person, but we prefer referrals from organizations who identify people in need,” said Sue.

To learn more about senior food shopping, reach out to slimiti@ahrc.org