Weekend Meals for Homebound Seniors

The Meals on Wheels People/Loaves & Fishes serve 5,000 hot, noontime meals to seniors in the greater Portland metro area. 15-20 percent of the seniors who receive weekday Meals-On-Wheels are eating only one meal a day – the meal we provide for them. These seniors would go hungry on the weekends if not for the Weekend Meals Program. The Weekend Meals Program reaches out to homebound, at-risk seniors to help improve their eating patterns as well as their physical and mental well-being.

The Weekend Meals Program:

• Alleviates hunger and malnutrition in some of our most vulnerable seniors
• Directly targets lonely, homebound seniors who are most at risk for malnutrition
• Promotes independent living for seniors, allowing them to “age in place”
• Provides social interaction for isolated seniors - for many, the volunteer who delivers their meal is the only person they'll see that day 

The social benefit of this program is profound; knowing that someone who cares will be bringing a hot meal and checking in on them is a lifeline for these seniors. The financial benefit to the community is also important. Fifty percent of chronic health conditions in the elderly can be improved with proper nutrition. The cost of providing Weekend Meals to a senior for a whole year is roughly equal to the cost of just two days of nursing home care. Providing hot, daily meals allows seniors to remain independent and living in their own homes.

It takes just $3.68 to provide a meal for a senior. A gift of $30 would provide a senior with weekend meals for an entire month. The seniors who receive Weekend Meals deeply appreciate the generosity of GlobalGiving donors, and the Meals on Wheels People/Loaves & Fishes Centers thank you for helping us achieve our vision that no senior will go hungry or experience social isolation.

Links:

• Visit our Website for More Information