Meal & Nutrition Programs

EPIC, Empath Partners in Care, provides HIV prevention, testing, treatment and support across six locations in the Tampa Bay area. It is part of Empath Health, and it serves a population that includes a large number of people who have been living with HIV for decades and are now aging with it. Services include free HIV testing and home test kits, an HIV medical home, medical case management, counseling, PrEP and TelePrEP, pharmacy services, housing assistance, food pantries and meals, support groups and financial assistance. A separate program, TOPWA, supports pregnant people living with HIV. That combination matters for older adults specifically. Long-term survivors often need case management, housing help and food support at the same time as medical care, and having them in one organization removes a lot of the coordination burden that otherwise falls on the person themselves. Phone numbers differ by county: Pinellas is (727) 328-3260 and Hillsborough is (813) 237-3066. Costs are not published in full, and financial assistance is available.

Sound Alliance of Older LGBTQ+, known as SAOL and formerly SAGE Olympia, was founded in 2011 and works to promote the wellness of older LGBTQIA+ people across Thurston County, Washington. It runs two regular monthly gatherings, both at established senior centers rather than at a separate LGBTQIA+ venue. The Olympia Senior Center group meets on second Tuesdays at 11:45am, at 224 Columbia Ave NW in Olympia. The Lacey group meets at the Virgil Clarkson Senior Center on the last Tuesday of the month at 11:30am, at 6757 Pacific Ave SE in Lacey. Meals cost between $4 and $8, and a one-time form is required the first time you attend. This is a volunteer network rather than an agency, run from a post office box. Contact the founder, Anna Schlecht, by phone or post.