Project Report
| Jul 9, 2019
Downtown Seniors Have Access to Healthy Meals
By Julie Piper Finley | Director of Marketing & Communications
![Pauline dines at our Elm Court Center nearly daily]()
Pauline dines at our Elm Court Center nearly daily
Older adults who live in downtown Portland are often challenged to find a source of affordable, healthy meals. While there are lots of hip and trendy restaurants, most are priced far out of the reach of most older adults. Many are living in residential hotels or SROs with no cooking facilities or limited options. For those on a fixed income, dinng out is just not an option. That's where Meals on Wheels People Elm Court Center comes in. We provide nutritious and healthy meals Monday through Friday wth a choice of entree daily. We also provide soup made from scrach and frequently have multiple choices for salads and desserts. Older adults who could not usually afford to dine out, can have a tasty meal in a restaurant setting. For many we serve, the meal they eat at Elm Court Center is their only food of the day.
Elm Court is unique among the neighborhood centers we support. It has a high percentage of homeless seniors as well as a number who suffer from mental illness. The Elm Court Center serves as their "living room" where they can get a cup of coffee, read the paper, pick up a paperback novel, watch movies and chat with others. There is really nothing else like our center for older adults in the downtown area. We provide not only meals, but a haven from the hustle and bustle of a busy downtown.
Between April 1 and June 30 of this year, we served and delivered 26,000 meals to 759 older adults in downtown Portland for a total cost of $192,140.
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Apr 16, 2019
Food Insecure Elders Dine at Elm Court
By Julie Piper Finley | Director of Marketing & Communications
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Older adults who live in downtown Portland are often food insecure. Many live in residential hotels or studio apartments with limited access to fresh food or cooking facilities. Many are making due on social security or small pensions and are unable to afford fresh and healthy food. The Elm Court Center provides them with a daily hot meal that meets one-third of the RDA for an adult. For many we serve, the who fruit and fresh salads are often the only produce they eat. And for those who are homebound, the friendly visit from the volunteer who brings the meal is often the only person they will see om an average day. Elm Court is striving to reduce food insecurity among downtown Portland elderly.
Between Jan. 1 and Apr. 15, 2019, we served and delivered 25,530 meals to more than 700 older adults for a total cost of $188,666.
We received this note from Mike, who lives in the Midwest, thanking us for the service we provided his mother in Portland: Thank you so much for the years of food-- and importantly, friendship -- your volunteers showed to my mom. Whenever I visited her, she always introduced me to the person delivering her food and they would take a minute to visit. She is now in assisted living, but your meals allowed her to stay in her home much longer than we thought possible.
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Jan 18, 2019
Our Meals Often Only Food For Isolated Seniors
By Julie Piper Finley | Director of Marketing & Communicatoins
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For older adults who dine at our Elm Court Center in downtown Portland, the meal they receive from us is often their only food of the day. Many of those who dine with us live in residence hotels or studio apartments with limited or no cooking facilities.Others struggle with disabilities, addiction or mental illness and are incapable of preparing their own meals. Without Meals on Wheels People, most of these seniors would go hungry. As it is, the meal we serve them provides about 1/3 of the RDA for an adult. Most rely on us as their source of fresh fruit and vegetables. Dining at the Elm Court Center allows many of these marginalized seniors to remain independent and living on their own.
Between Nov. 1, 2018 and Jan. 15, 2019, we served and delivered 18,000 meals to 675 older adults for a cost of $133,020.
We recently received a letter in the mail with a silver dollar taped to it and this note: Thank you for all you do for seniors and refugees. You are making a difference.
More than 60% of our operating budget comes from donations from the community and we are very appreicative of the donations that come from the Global Giving donors.
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