CDFU, CCMC partner to distribute salmon to seniors

Cordova, Alaska. (June 17, 2020) Photo by Zachary Snowdon Smith/The Cordova Times

Fishery and health care organizations have partnered to deliver salmon to Cordova seniors without exposing them to unnecessary coronavirus risk. Cordova District Fishermen United’s annual Senior Salmon Day event will use the system developed by Cordova Community Medical Center’s senior lunch program to deliver food safely to older residents.

Anyone who knows a senior who would like to receive some salmon is encouraged to email programs@cdfu.org or to call CDFU’s offices at 907-424-3447, said Chelsea Haisman, CDFU executive director. The salmon will be delivered to recipients’ homes, she said.

Salmon collection at Cordova’s fishing grounds is tentatively scheduled for Monday, June 22. Distribution is expected to follow later that week, after the fish has been processed at local facilities. In past years, each participant has received between two-four fillets, though the turbulent beginnings of this year’s fishing season make it difficult to predict how much will be on hand for Senior Salmon Day.

In previous years, recipients have picked up their salmon on First Street in a community social event.

“It’s a bit of a bummer that we can’t have an in-person event out on Main Street, because that’s always just such a fun time to see everyone,” Haisman said. “But we are looking at this as an opportunity to bring a little bit of visibility to the senior lunch program at CCMC, and our hope is that that will allow some elders to connect to that program who haven’t connected before.”

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