Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island launches ‘March for Meals’ awareness campaign
PROVIDENCE — With a proclamation issued by Gina Raimondo in her last days as Rhode Island’s governor that declared this month “March for Meals Month,” Rhode Island Office of Healthy Aging Director Rose Amoros Jones on March 3 launched Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island’s month-long campaign alongside the organization’s Executive Director Meghan Grady.
Throughout March, Rhode Island’s congressional delegation, state officials and mayors, as well as campaign sponsors, will deliver complete and nutritious meals to Meals on Wheels of RI clients, lending their strong voices to public advocacy for the continuation and expansion of the organization’s critical programs.
“Over the last year, we’ve faced a global pandemic, and with it, we’ve all confronted the hardships that come with physical distance and being quarantined in our homes. While COVID vaccines bring hope that this pandemic will soon come to an end, I pray what doesn’t end is our newfound awareness about the social isolation, food insecurity, and countless other struggles that so many of our neighbors experienced prior to COVID,” said Jones. “For more than 50 years, Meals on Wheels has provided an invaluable service to our neighbors who are homebound. More than a meal, the team delivers hope, friendly conversation, and needed human connection.”
March For Meals unites elected officials, business leaders and community champions to rally public support for the organization’s critical work in combating the issues of senior food insecurity and isolation across the state. In 2020, Meals on Wheels of RI’s Home-Delivered Meal Program provided more than 336,000 meals, well-being checks, and social visits to 2,748 homebound Rhode Islanders.
Another 605 more mobile seniors were served through Meals on Wheels of RI’s Capital City Café Program, which was converted to home-delivered meals during the pandemic.
“We are very proud that our services have continued without disruption and that we’ve been able to provide our homebound clients with the nutrition, wellness checks, and socialization they need to stay healthy and safe in their own homes throughout this crisis,” said Meals on Wheels of RI Executive Director Meghan Grady. “March for Meals is about bringing together all of our supporters to recognize that the need for this work continues to grow as does the need to raise the funds that will support it now and in the future.”
Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, Vice President, Consumer Segment, Corey McCarty, and Webster Bank SVP, Public Sector Finance, Xay Khamsyvoravong, representing the campaign’s presenting sponsors, also were present to usher in this year’s campaign.
“There’s no doubt that this year has been a challenging one, especially for older Rhode Islanders,” McCarty said. “Meals on Wheels services are such a critical part of ensuring the health and safety of our state’s homebound older adults. By addressing food insecurity and social isolation in one daily visit, Meals on Wheels is effectively reducing significant risk factors that can contribute to a myriad of health conditions, such as heart disease, weakened immune system and cognitive decline. We are incredibly grateful to Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island for their essential services and appreciate the opportunity to provide necessary financial and volunteer support to enable their work.”
For more information on March for Meals or how to make an impact today in combating senior hunger and isolation across the state, visit www.rimeals.org.
DEAR ABBY:
I am a 49-year-old woman who has been in a romantic relationship with a good, caring man for two years. We live together, and he shows me all the time how much he loves me. We have amazing chemistry and are very affectionate. We enjoy spending time together, especially outdoors.
When we first started dating, he told me he was bisexual and had had relationships with men. He insists I am his true love and he is with only me now. He has never shown signs of straying, but sometimes I get insecure and wonder if I should take him at his word that he only wants me. Should I trust him? -- WANTS TO BE SURE
IN RHODE ISLAND
DEAR WANTS:
This man has been upfront with you. Because someone finds members of both genders attractive does not mean the person is incapable of monogamy. During the last two years, he has given you no reason to believe he is untrustworthy, so take steps to deal with your insecurity and take him at his word.
DEAR ABBY:
My son and daughter-inlaw -- the parents of three minor children -- were divorced in 2019. Prior to their divorce, the ex-DIL got pregnant by another man. She has since had a little girl. My dilemma is, do I include the new little girl when they come to visit Grandma? She is still my grandchildren’s half-sister. As they get older and come to visit me, I would feel bad leaving her out of events.
My son is livid that I would even consider including her. Her other grandparents refuse to have anything to do with her. How do I deal with this?
- DILEMMA IN THE MIDWEST
DEAR DILEMMA:
You have a loving heart. I assume all the children live together with their mother. To exclude their half-sister would be logistically difficult and cruel to a child who is blameless. Your son may not like the situation, but it is time for him to grow up and face reality. You are the only grandmother that child has ever known, so remain calm, assert your right to self-determination and refuse to allow yourself to be bullied or intimidated.
DEAR ABBY:
Unfortunately, I am not in the same income bracket as my family and some of my friends. Also, I married a guy who doesn’t like to socialize because he’s a recovering alcoholic, and he also has hearing problems. Family and friends rarely ask us to join them when they go out, but they never fail to call and tell me all about the great time they had and where they plan to go next. It hurts, and I resent them for it. I want to be happy for them and not feel the way I do. Help!
-- DIFFERENT IN
NEW YORK
DEAR DIFFERENT:
Your husband may have hearing problems, but your relatives appear to be tone deaf in the sensitivity department. What they are doing is cruel.
Rather than compare your life to that of friends and relatives who have more freedom to socialize than you and your husband do, it would be more constructive to figure out what you CAN do. Socialize either with others or by yourselves in places that don’t serve alcohol and aren’t overly noisy. Ask your relatives to join you there -- and put the ball in their court.