• UPDATE: La Comida has announced an agreement with Stevenson House to move to south Palo Alto. Read more here.

After 45 years of offering nutritious meals to Palo Alto seniors of all nationalities, personalities and income levels, the nonprofit La Comida found itself facing scary prospect this summer: By the end of August, it may be homeless and in need.

The nonprofit, which has been operating in downtown since 1972, will have to move after its lease with the nonprofit Avenidas expires on Aug. 30. In September, Avenidas plans to kick off its long-planned renovation and expansion project – an $18-million endeavor that includes a new wellness center, fitness center and flexible classrooms and meeting rooms at its historic building at 450 Bryant St.

The project will also, however, result in a smaller dining room on the ground floor – a factor that last year created a rift between Palo Alto's primary senior-services provider and the popular nutrition program. In December, after months of back-and-forth negotiations and a formal appeal by La Comida against the Avenidas expansion, the two nonprofits reached an agreement to permanently part ways, with the understanding that Avenidas would help La Comida find a new location and offer transportation services.

Since then, La Comida has been on a desperate quest to secure new space: both in the near- and long-term. In June, members of the board announced publicly that they had a very strong lead on a location that can accommodate the program immediately after this summer. On June 27, Davina Brown, vice president of the La Comida board of directors, told the council that her organization has had some "very, very good meetings" and that things look "a lot more promising" than they had before.

Now, things are looking slightly better. Bill Blodgett, chair of the La Comida board, told the Weekly on Wednesday that his group will be making an announcement within the next few days about a new short-term home.

Blodgett declined to say where the new location is, pending the completion of the agreement. And while he said the organization is pleased by the new development, he noted that the new home will be away from downtown. To make things easier for its users, the organization is looking for a second serving location that would be closer to downtown, he said, though that location probably won't be available for some time after the first location opens.

"Our hope is that this agreement would carry us over until we're able to establish a longer-term presence, hopefully back in the downtown area," Blodgett said.

The potential agreement for a near-term home is a bit of bright news after months of anxiety for La Comida officials and longtime users, some of whom have been attending recent council meetings and calling for the city to get more involved in helping the nonprofit find a new home.

Gale Fullerton, 74, said he has been coming to La Comida for 15 years. He lauded the organization for providing food to everyone, "from wealthy people to those who are homeless."

"This is where they get their only food of the day, and it's their only social activity,” Fullerton told the council on June 19. "Social activity is extremely important."

La Comida's faltering prospects for finding a long-term home, coupled with residents' anxiety over losing a popular nutrition program, has also created a new push for a reunion between Avenidas and La Comida. In early June, the council received a petition signed by 234 people (an additional 225 had signed the online version), calling for La Comida's preservation as a "permanent partner" with Avenidas. The petition included a data about La Comida's customers, 91 percent of whom are over 65 years old and 31 percent of whom are over 80.

The petition also points out that 42 percent identify themselves as low income; 30 percent live alone; 46 percent consider the La Comida experience as their "primary meal"; and more than 30 percent rely on bus transportation.

The petition notes that while a possible short-term location has been identified, this location is smaller than ideal. In the downtown area, no location of adequate size had been identified for either the short- or long-term.

"Ideally, La Comida would return to downtown Palo Alto, co-located with, or close to Avenidas, after its renovation and expansion, to keep the Senior Nutrition Program in close proximity to other senior services," the petition states. "La Comida is more than getting a meal for many of these patrons. It offers a place for many seniors to meet friends and it is a purpose for many seniors to keep moving around as they help and volunteer at La Comida."

For City Council members Tom DuBois and Lydia Kou, the diners' request makes perfect sense. Both have been working with La Comida to try to find a new home and both believe that the new Avenidas would be uniquely suited to housing a senior-nutrition program.

"Those services belong together," DuBois said in a recent interview. "It just doesn't make sense to have senior services in one place and nutrition services somewhere else."

Kou, who had volunteered at La Comida, noted that the nonprofit has been "looking very, very diligently" for a new space but has not had success. She noted that Avenidas has not yet broken ground, which means the organization can still "redraw" its plans to support La Comida's needs.

"Given that this is a city property and that we do have obligation to all seniors – it should be still considered as a place to house La Comida," Kou told the Weekly, referring to the historic building at 450 Bryant that Avenidas leases for $1 per year.

Even if a redesign seems highly unlikely (the Avenidas project won the city's approval last fall after more than a year of public hearings and a multitude of revisions), Kou said she believes there's still room for discussion between the two nonprofits about what it would take to accommodate La Comida's needs.

DuBois agreed and noted that Avenidas can come up with a flexible plan that spreads out diners over a larger space, with different areas earmarked for dining, having tea or simply mingling. This could allow the senior-nutrition program to function with a smaller dining area.

DuBois said he believes there are some "hurt feelings and egos on both sides." But given La Comida's precarious situation and Avenidas' commitment to local seniors, he said, he believes these issues can be resolved.

"La Comida went out and tested the market," DuBois said in a recent interview. "They realize now how hard it is to find space and I think they're willing to compromise.

"We hope Avenidas is also willing to compromise."

To be sure, any reunification would require a renewed spirit of compromise. Last year, the two nonprofits sparred over Avenidas' plans to reduce the dining area by between more than 30 seats to accommodate both building codes and the new design. They ultimately went into mediation, which La Comida officials said reaffirmed their belief that the new dining area would be suboptimal for the nonprofit's needs.

Now, the two nonprofits are once again considering this option. Amy Andonian, CEO and president of Avenidas, said her organization "has been meeting regularly with the City and with La Comida to develop a long term solution."

"Both parties may return to mediation in the near future," Andonian told the Weekly.

Blodgett noted that despite the recent disagreements, La Comida and Avenidas have had "an excellent partnership over the years." While he declined to discuss the potential for mediation, he said his organization and Avenidas continue to "cooperate effectively" through this transition period.

"We still have common goals in mind: providing what's best for seniors," Blodgett said.

Related content:

• Behind the Headlines: Preserving La Comida