Meals On Wheels Highlighted In March

PRAIRIE GROVE — As a new month rolls around, there’s always something to celebrate or remember for that month.

For senior centers in this area, March is dedicated especially to older adults. March for Meals is used to bring attention to the plight of hunger among senior adults in the nation and point to the importance of Meals on Wheels.

In Prairie Grove, seniors are asking people to take the change out of their pockets and drop it in a five-gallon water bottle to benefit Meals on Wheels. “Your Change Changes Lives!” is the theme for the change jar.

Linda Willkie, director of the Prairie Grove Senior Activity and Wellness Center, said Meals on Wheels helps older adults remain in their homes.

“This is where they want to be. They want to stay in their homes,” Willkie said. “It has nothing to do with being poor.”

One feature of the national March for Meals campaign is a program called Mayors for Meals and for the fifth consecutive year, Mayor Sonny Hudson delivered Meals on Wheels to home bound in the area.

“It’s a good program and I enjoy seeing the folks,” Hudson said.

He said he knows most of the seniors on Prairie Grove’s route and many remember him coming year to year.

“I got lots of hugs today,” Hudson said. “It’s enjoyable.”

Lucille West of Prairie Grove has received Meals on Wheels for about three years. She said she cannot drive and depends on the daily meal.

“It helps me to have a good meal when I might skip one,” West said.

Almost one in six seniors in America face the threat of hunger in America, according to the Meals on Wheels Association website. The association predicts that by 2050, the number of hungry seniors will double. To give a better picture, the website says that this number in 2050 will be the same as the total populations of New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston combined.

The website lists three primary reasons the number of hungry seniors is rising each year: the increase in life expectancy, rising costs of food and transportation and the remaining impacts of a recession that especially hit people nearing or already in their retirement years.

Kaye Taylor with Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District said a 2011 survey by the National Foundation to End Senior Hunger ranks Arkansas as #1 of all 50 states in senior hunger. About one-third of all Arkansans aged 60 and older, more than 160,000 people, are living with food insecurity, Taylor said.

On a more local level, Taylor said Washington County has an estimated 63,500 people age 60 and older and about 16 percent of them are considered “hungry.”

That’s why the Meals on Wheels program is so important, she said.

“Meals on Wheels programs serve a hot, nutritious meal, a warm smile and the safety check that keeps home-bound seniors living in their own home,” Taylor said.

The cost of a home cooked meal includes the raw food, packaging and delivery costs. For Prairie Grove, it costs $5.97 per meal.

Taylor said senior centers in Washington County only receive 49 percent of the costs for a home- bound meal from federal and state funding. The balance of the costs has to be raised by the centers through donations and fundraising efforts.

For 2013, Prairie Grove delivered 4,898 hot meals to home-bound residents, Taylor said. For Washington County, a total of 101,544 meals were delivered to 617 clients.

Willkie said she encourages businesses, organizations and individuals to donate to Meals on Wheels. For instance, she said an organization could adopt one person on Meals on Wheels. Currently, 18 clients receive Meals on Wheels through the Prairie Grove center.