SACKVILLE, N.B. -- A group of Mount Allison University students in New Brunswick has launched a new program in hopes to ease loneliness and isolation among seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Third-year university student Hannah Crouse says she noticed a trend last year when volunteering to deliver food to seniors in need.

"These seniors were quite lonely. Perhaps some were a little nervous to go out to grocery stores and those sorts of things with the pandemic, but the biggest thing we saw was the social isolation," said Crouse.

The program, called Community Connects, pairs university students with seniors in the community who then get together once a week to share a meal.

The group of students work with Nursing Homes Without Walls – a pilot project to help seniors in rural communities find access to services and overcome the emotional isolation of living alone in their home – to match seniors with students.

Since the summer, the team says more than 40 students are now involved.

"The response to it has been overall very positive and we've had many of the students involved in the summer and the seniors, ask to return this session," said Kandis Neil Sampson, a university student who helps with the program.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions in the region, the group has had to adjust their original program to make sure they are following pandemic protocols.

Instead of in-person visits, they have switched to virtual meetings and have partnered with Open Sky Co-Op to drop off food.

"Right now, because we're in the red and orange phase, students and seniors are paired and talking through either phone calls or some have access to video chats, so Facetime or through Facebook there's a program some of the students and seniors use," said Bethany Baert, who is part of the Community Connection program.

As a result of the work the group has been doing, Hannah Crouse has been named one of the 89 New Brunswickers who have been recognized for exemplary acts of service since the start of the pandemic.

"I think this is fantastic and just prioritizing those relationships and meaningful connections, so I'm glad that it got the recognition it did because it validates the work we do and the time and effort that goes into this, in addition to seeing the importance of it," said Crouse.