Five days a week, Kelli Casto rises at 3:30 a.m. to drive to the farmer’s market in Tampa to select fresh food and vegetables for seniors in need throughout Tampa Bay. Then she, one part-time employee and volunteers make three to four stops per day to distribute the food to communities of people 55 and older. This is in addition to a large medical equipment program she runs in which individuals and companies donate items such as wheelchairs, four-wheel walkers, shower grab bars, hospital beds, and lift chairs. These are then sold on a sliding scale to seniors who can’t afford to buy their own.
Casto came to St. Pete to attend school to become an occupational therapy assistant. She got a job here and was soon shocked at the lack of services available for seniors. They needed help with buying food, medicine, and equipment – plus finding an affordable place to live. “There is a five-year waiting list for senior housing in the area, and many people are trying to age in place because they have no other choice. I was a therapist for 15 years, and you would not believe the amount of red tape someone has to go through to receive any type of service or financial help. You should see the condition of some people who come to our food truck covered in urine, who do not have the ability to shower or cook for themselves. And they were told they are not medically needy enough to receive services.”
Today Casto works full-time as director of Saving Our Seniors, which she started in 2016. She is particularly upset at the amount of expired food that is given out by charities to those in need. “Some of it is months’ past the expiration date,” she said. “We provide fresh produce as well as canned goods, and people can select what they want rather than being handed a bag of food.”
Anyone over 55 who has an income of less than $1,500 a month can request medical equipment. If you make over $1,500 per month, you are welcome to shop at their storage space in Pinellas Park by appointment. “One hundred percent of our equipment sales goes back to our mission,” Casto promised.
SOS Express to be Launched
Casto was thrilled to procure a trailer recently to transport all her farmer’s market food and some medical equipment. However, the offer of a truck to pull it fell through, so she hopes to find someone who could donate one.
Volunteers always are needed to help out at the SOS farmer’s markets. Shifts are 1½ hours per day. The organization is funded entirely from private donations, such as those given by the St. Petersburg Women’s Chamber of Commerce recently. “We feed over 1,000 seniors per week and provide medical equipment to about 30 to 50 people per week,” Cato said. “Since the program began, we have given out over 30,000 pieces of equipment.
“We all have to start speaking out and taking action to help our seniors live out their years with all their medical and daily living needs met.”
To request medical equipment or to make a cash donation, please visit www.SavingOurSeniors.org or call Director Kelli Casto at (727) 537- 6753. The organization serves Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk, Manatee, Pasco, and Sarasota counties and some parts of Orange County near Orlando.
