Meals on Wheels thankful for this caring community

Thanksgiving means many different things. Good food, family gatherings, the beginning of the holidays. But this year will be different for everyone and it will mean so much more to me. It will be a time of reflection and giving thanks for the community we serve, coming together this year to care for its senior neighbors.

At Meals on Wheels San Antonio, we’re giving thanks for the opportunity to serve seniors who built our community and now need our help to stay independent and safe in their homes. The San Antonio community’s support makes that service possible. Last year, Meals on Wheels provided more than 1.2 million meals to more than 5,500 seniors across the greater San Antonio area. When we rang in 2020, we were ready to serve even more senior neighbors. Since the coronavirus crashed down on us in March, an additional 1,200 clients have been provided meal services. By the end of this year, we will provide an additional 200,000 meals over and above our normal five meals a week to each client.

Our compassionate community stepped forward, making sure this vital service continued delivering during tough months. I am so thankful.

Holidays are a critical time for our elderly because they are often reminded of the loneliness they face. Due to the virus, many will hunker down in homes to stay safe since they are more vulnerable to getting severely ill. And many elderly don’t have the ability to Zoom or virtually connect with family and friends.

While Meals on Wheels is known for the seemingly simple act of taking nutritious meals to seniors who can’t cook for themselves or get out of their house, so much more is shared. Delivery volunteers provide friendly “hellos” and dependable service. Volunteers check on the senior’s health and make sure their environment is safe. Others pack boxes full of shelf-stable nutrition or virtually visit clients in our Friendly Visitor program. Businesses and organizations assist in imaginative ways — donating masks and hand sanitizer, helping find creative ways to access food when supply chains were stalled, traveling all over the city to pick up and deliver meals, raising funds through virtual concerts, or donating pet food for our Animeals program to help our clients feed their furry companions.

I’m grateful to the Meals on Wheels family serving others every day. Our caring volunteers, generous donors, and dedicated staff make positive impacts in the lives of many in San Antonio and surrounding counties. It is through these collective efforts we’ve learned we can face adversity during an ongoing crisis.

We are thankful to the city of San Antonio for trusting us to provide nutritious meals to seniors by recently awarding us the contract to supply meals to all city senior centers. By 2021, thousands more will enjoy Meals on Wheels menu items that are specially created with care and the health of seniors in mind.

We’re also grateful for the partnerships we’ve created because of the pandemic. An example of that is the virus forcing the Raul Jimenez Thanksgiving Day Dinner out of the Convention Center. This Thanksgiving, the Jimenez family and a collective of nonprofits will hit the ground running to bring food to 10,000 neighbors. San Antonio nonprofits know how to pull together during tough times, and we’re teaming up with Raul Jimenez Thanksgiving Day Dinner to help manage the homebound delivery logistics for their Thanksgiving Day meals. Silver linings like this collaboration should be counted as blessings this season.

Donors of all sizes have given during a financially difficult time for many. Our gratitude for every donor grows with each gift and each client we add to our delivery routes. Just $5 equals one full meal delivered to someone’s door — it could be your neighbor. Whether you’re a new, or a longtime donor, all are very appreciated.

This year proves we can count on San Antonians. Thank you for that. When celebrating the holidays, please remain vigilant in protecting yourself, your loved ones and our community. Consider sharing what you’re thankful for with others through kind words, deeds or, if possible, donations. Look for silver linings.

Thank you, San Antonio, for sticking with us and being good neighbors.

Through collective efforts we’ve learned we can face adversity during an ongoing crisis.