ho should be responsible for feeding older homebound people who don't have family or friends who can help them? Inevitably, the burden shifts to the the city and the private sector.

Experts say that neither the public nor the private sector alone can fulfill the demand. "With the elderly population exploding, there's going to have to be a partnership," says Andrea Kopel, the director of programs, services and community affairs for Citymeals-on-Wheels. "It's going to take all of us to meet the needs of the population."

The provision of meals to the elderly has become a necessity in New York City. One in five people age 65 and older lives at or below the poverty line, making seniors particularly vulnerable to hunger.

Since 1981, New York City's Citymeals-on-Wheels has been forging such partnerships. Founded by Gael Greene and James Beard, the organization provides private funding to 190 nonprofit organizations that transport cooked meals to elderly, homebound New Yorkers year-round.

Citymeals-on-Wheels abides by federal, state and city laws governing food distribution to the elderly. Older people must be chronically disabled and 60 years or older to receive a meal delivery.

A primary source of social services for elderly Americans comes by way of the 1965 Older Americans Act. The law aims to help seniors live independently in their own homes. The act states that nutritional meals must be available once a day, Monday through Friday, to all persons age 60 and older, regardless of their income. In New York City, Citymeals-on-Wheels extends service to other days.

Kopel says that New York City tries to offer adequate nutritional services for the elderly. "In a lot of other places, there's not really the support that there is in New York City," she says. "Other cities don't have a Citymeals-on-Wheels."

Private resources provide Citymeals-on-Wheels with 70 percent of the funding it needs, Kopel says. Recent gifts range from $2 from an anonymous individual to $1 million from tobacco behemoth Philip Morris. Corporate givers include Merrill Lynch, ESG Insignia, and local real-estate companies.

Though the the government only supplies Citymeals-on-Wheels with 30 percent of its operating budget, Kopel says that it "should take the lead and it does" by funding two-thirds of the total older persons' nutrition programs in the city.

Yet, Kopel asks of the city, "Are we letting them off the hook by expanding our services? We struggle with this question.

"We keep mutually pressuring each other to do as much as we can," she says of the partnership. "New York City's government has tried to keep pace with growth of demand. It's not enough, but they're trying."