Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
FUNDRAISER for Meals on Wheels a socially distanced event.
FAYETTEVILLE — The third annual Meals on Wheels Holiday Fundraiser was featured Saturday through a socially distanced outdoor event.
The Fayetteville Senior Activity and Wellness Center event featured live music, a boxed lunch and a raffle.
The center runs Fayetteville’s nonprofit Meals on Wheels program, said Chase Gipson, center director.
The local program has historically provided 185 home-delivered meals, 97 group meals, 171 socializations and 22 taxi rides daily, he said.
“Because we are closed to the public, we have not had any socialization units or congregate meals since March,” Gipson said. “Our taxi rides have dropped by around 25%,
and our home-delivered meals have seen a 20% increase.”
The program served just under 50,000 free meals last year, he said.The center has been closed to the public since March 17, when it switched its group, in-person lunch to a drive through pickup service, Gipson said.
Ralph Ferguson, 70, of Fayetteville has been picking up boxed lunches for himself and his wife, Diane Ferguson, 67, ever since the center closed, Diane Ferguson said.
“Before that, I volunteered here almost every day for over 10 years,” she said. “The van would come and get a bunch of us and bring us, which was wonderful.”
The hot lunch is very important for the couple, Diane Ferguson said, as she’s unable to cook because of the aftereffects of a brain aneurysm.
“This way we have a warm meal every day at lunch,” she said.
The center’s staff has been able to work throughout the pandemic, Gipson said.
“Between our daily deliveries, weekend deliveries and curbside lunch, our kitchen staff are preparing around 320 meals every day,” he said.
Nearly 9.7 million seniors nationwide are threatened by hunger, according to the Meals on Wheels America website. Some 5.3 million seniors are food insecure or very low food secure.
The program began in Philadelphia in 1954 to support seniors 60 and older to extend their independence and health as they age through frequent in-home visits, meeting nutritional needs, combating social isolation and addressing safety hazards, according to the website. Two out of three recipients report the meals delivered through the program make up half or more of all food eaten that day. The social and safety aspects of having Meals on Wheels staff and volunteers visit with area seniors is important to many who receive meals, Diane Ferguson said, noting they’re often the only social contact many of the seniors receive.
“People can fall,” Diane Ferguson said. “Because they get the Meals on Wheels, there’s somebody bringing the meal and checking on them.”
Each meal costs about $8.33 to prepare and deliver to a client, Gipson said.
The senior center partnered with Subaru’s national Share the Love fundraising event Saturday for what he said has become the center’s largest annual fundraiser.
Subaru will donate $250 from every purchased or leased new Subaru now through Jan. 4 to national or local charities of customers’ choosing, according to the Subaru of America website. Participating retailers have donated more than $176 million to charity over the past 12 years.
“Last year, the event raised over $12,500,” Gipson said, which was about 10% of the center’s budget for the year.
The amount raised at this year’s event won’t be known until Subaru concludes its Share the Love event in Arkansas, he said.
“All funds will go directly to our Meals on Wheels program to help cover food costs, delivery costs, equipment costs and all other related costs,” Gipson said.