“For the cost of a single day in the hospital, Meals On Wheels can feed an individual for a year.”
— Ellie Hollander, CEO, Meals On Wheels Association of America.
Mayor Bill Euille joined other mayors and elected officials across the nation in delivering meals to homebound seniors March 21 as part of Mayors for Meals, a component of the March for Meals Campaign of the Meals on Wheels Association of America and Senior Services of Alexandria.
“For the cost of a single day in the hospital, Meals on Wheels can feed an individual for a year,” said Ellie Hollander, president and CEO of the Alexandria-based Meals on Wheels Association of America.
With SSA board president Greg Murphy serving as their driver, Hollander joined Euille and Murphy's 11-year-old daughter Anna in delivering meals in the Taylor Run and South Old Town areas of the city.
In addition to delivering meals, volunteers delivered socks and “Happy Spring” greeting cards to seniors. The socks were donated by the Lincoln Chapter Order of the Eastern Star, and the greeting cards were hand-made by students from Mount Vernon Elementary School.
“In Alexandria, Meals on Wheels delivers to an average of 85 seniors each day, seven days a week,” said SSA executive director Janet Barnett, who noted that a pool of more than 200 individuals rotate as volunteers for the program.
Meals for the program are prepared at The Hermitage senior living facility and are available for both fee-subsidized and self-pay clients.
“I'm glad my dad let me help deliver meals today,” Anna Murphy said. “It's been fun meeting everyone and visiting with them when we drop off the meals. Everyone is so grateful and I can see for myself what a great program Meals on Wheels is.”
For more information on Alexandria's Meals on Wheels program or to volunteer, visit www.seniorservicesalex.org.