FeedMore, Central Virginia’s core hunger-relief organization, will celebrate a very special milestone for its Meals on Wheels program on Monday – 50 years of delivering healthy meals and companionship to homebound neighbors in Central Virginia. To commemorate this golden anniversary, Mayor Levar Stoney will be delivering meals to Meals on Wheels recipients in the 9th District on the southside of Richmond.
“Monday is an extraordinarily special day for our Meals on Wheels and we are incredibly proud of the impact this program has made on the lives of our homebound neighbors,” said Doug Pick, CEO of FeedMore. “For the last 50 years, with the support of our community, we have been able to ensure our homebound seniors and disabled neighbors are taken care of in mind, body and spirit.”
On October 16, 1967, eight homebound residents in the City of Richmond received a meal delivered by then Richmond Mayor Morrill Crowe and his wife, Katheryne, marking the official launch of the program. Since then, FeedMore’s Meals on Wheels has delivered close to 7.8 million meals to homebound neighbors who are unable to shop for or prepare nutritious meals on their own.
“Our Meals on Wheels helps ensure our region’s seniors can age in place and remain independent and safe in their own homes, where they want to be,” said Pick. “It is our duty and responsibility to take care of those who have given so much of themselves and I couldn’t be more proud of the great work our community has done to support our seniors.”
With meals made from scratch in the Bayard Community Kitchen, each weekday more than 1,000 diet-specific meals are delivered to nearly 800 recipients on 94 routes across Central Virginia. FeedMore relies on the support of its more than 130 Meals on Wheels volunteers each day, who in addition to hand-delivering the meal, provide recipients with a friendly smile and that important safety check, making the program extend far beyond the meal.
For more information on FeedMore’s Meals on Wheels and our hunger-fighting efforts, please visit feedmore.org.
