Susan Hall.

As founder and executive director of The Angel's Depot, Susan Hall has helped thousands of seniors in San Diego County avoid illnesses linked to poor nutrition and stress from food insecurity. Hall, a veteran fundraiser and nonprofit administrator, created The Angel's Depot in 2005 after learning from officials at the Department of Aging and Independence that the county had 50,000 seniors living in poverty. It took Hall approximately a year to raise the startup funding, recruit a non-profit board of directors and devise a unique feeding strategy aimed at rescuing the elderly poor from hunger and deprivation. The Angel's Depot works with existing government agencies and community-based partners to bring timely food aid to the elderly poor. Nutritious, nonperishable food is made available directly to seniors at no cost, and during the third week of each month, when a senior's pantry is likely becoming bare; the it delivers approximately 500 emergency food boxes to 13 senior centers and other partner sites that specialize in assisting the elderly. Each box contains approximately 22 pounds of nutritious, non-perishable food. Seniors typically are able to prepare themselves three meals a day--breakfast, lunch and dinner--for a week or longer. The Depot's nutritious meals are aimed at helping low-income seniors stay healthy and self-sufficient; decreasing the likelihood they will be placed into nursing homes prematurely. In just over three years, the agency has distributed 19,228 emergency food boxes containing 423,016 pounds of food that provided approximately 403,788 senior meals. The agency also endeavors to promote community awareness and support for the impoverished senior's plight and to connect seniors to other available resources.

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