Forsyth County, Let’s Do Lunch!
Our President & CEO's View of the Value of a Meals-on-Wheels Delivery
by
T. Lee Covington
Over the last few months Senior Services’ Meals-on-Wheels program has had several “special” deliveries. We invited Governor Roy Cooper and first lady Kristin Cooper to celebrate an important community milestone and deliver our six-millionth meal in September; and Congresswoman Virginia Foxx recently agreed to deliver a Meals-on-Wheels route with us too. In fact, throughout the more than 50 years the Meals-on-Wheels program has operated in Forsyth County, many elected officials have taken the opportunity to deliver meals, a practice we encourage. These “special” deliveries are important as they offer elected officials an opportunity to see how programs which receive funds from federal and state sources are impacting the lives of local residents. Our hope is that these experiences will be fresh on their minds as they make policy and budget decisions that affect the seniors we serve.
While these were indeed “special” deliveries, to us all Meals-on-Wheels deliveries are special because each recipient and each volunteer make them so. Currently, we rely on more than 1,500 dedicated volunteers to deliver more than 240,000 meals each year. Some of these volunteers have been faithfully delivering for more than 30 years! Without them, Meals-on-Wheels and many of our other services could not be delivered as effectively and efficiently. Think about this—six million meals delivered represents six million knocks on the door, six million friendly faces, and perhaps most importantly, six million moments of human connection which would not have otherwise happened. For us, and all the homebound seniors depending on this program, that is priceless!
We are indebted to our faithful volunteers for their tireless work in support of seniors who are at risk for hunger and malnutrition. We are also thankful for the opportunity to educate elected officials and others, at every level, about the impact and importance of programs such as Meals-on-Wheels to our community. Our responsibility to advocate and lift up the challenges faced by seniors among us who are living with frailty is central to our mission and something we take very seriously. We invite you to continue the conversation and join us in this work. In as little as one hour, once a month, you can deliver a Meals-on-Wheels route and begin to share your experience with us and others. Together, we can ensure that no senior goes without a meal or the care they need and that the hard work of everyday heroes is echoed and amplified near and far. Forsyth County, let’s do lunch!