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Seniors urge permanent site and funding for community food distribution; city hears request
Summary
Residents and a program leader told the commission the Community Enhancement Collaboration (CEC) senior food distribution is hard for older residents to access at its current Wiley Street location and asked the city to allocate funds and consider making Washington Park the program's permanent home.
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — At the Sept. 25 budget hearing, participants in the Community Enhancement Collaboration (CEC) program told the City Commission that Tuesday senior food distributions at the Wiley Street site are difficult for older residents to access and asked the city to allocate funds and make Washington Park a permanent site.
Carlene Duarte, who identified herself as a Hollywood resident and a CEC program participant, said she is disabled and relies on the program. Duarte said seniors wait for hours in sun or rain at the Wiley Street distribution and that there is no bathroom available. She praised the temporary arrangement at Washington Park, saying it provides shade, seating and restroom access, and asked the commission to “please allocate funds to access everyone in the community by including our seniors and their need for help in this situation.”
The request was made during the public hearing on the FY2026 budget; no commission motion or vote resulted from the comment. The statement was presented as public comment asking staff and the commission to consider funding and site stability to improve accessibility for seniors and people with disabilities.
City staff did not give a formal response on the record during the hearing; the city manager and commissioners later discussed broad commitments to customer service and process improvements in the context of the overall budget.
