Amiallana Justus 
On Sunday, March 14, March for Meals celebrated their fourth annual Walk and Brunch from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. With a 2K run/walk, this event was meant to spread awareness for senior nutrition programs.
This event gave the community an opportunity to fund programs needed to support seniors. Every donation helps to give five meals to elders in need.
Senior care assistance is important because everyone reaches that point of needing a little extra help. As age progresses, working also becomes limited and money becomes scarce.
Seniors make up the fastest-growing homeless population in Central Florida. So, providing food is crucial to help our elders.
March for Meals and Brunch showed its support while also helping others realize that homelessness and hunger for elders is a real issue. The outcome may not be controlled, but the community can work together to provide a safe haven for seniors who may need help or access to the right resources.
Connecting as a Community to Give Back to Seniors
Becoming a senior is a natural part of our existence, but that doesn’t make it any less stressful or difficult dealing with this transition in life.
“This event is an opportunity for us to get friends, volunteers, and our staff, where everybody gets together to raise some funds that will go directly towards preparing meals for our senior clients in Seminole County,” said Michael McKee, Executive Director for Meal on Wheels. “A hundred percent of the proceeds of today goes by the food that we prepared in our own kitchens.”
Life can be unpredictable so Meals on Wheels gives citizens a taste of comfort delivering meals to their homes.
“Life comes at you fast regardless of your age, but it’s a situation where even with the right preparation, you just don’t know what curveballs life may throw at you,” said McKee. “Our senior clients for the most part are homebound so we deliver meals to them due to medical issues they have and not having family or friends as support. They’re really kind of left on their own and we are here to fill that role and we take care of our people.”
This program is meant to create a safe space for seniors while helping to teach life skills that are essential for senior adults. This event also teaches life long learning opportunities for elders.
“With the services that we provide, we have training, support, dining, safety, and so much more that has benefited the seniors in our community,” said McKee. “We had the Sanford police department come out of our dining center and talked about fraud and how seniors protect themselves from fraud. We teach them how to cook, how to use a computer, and all these things that a lot of people take for granted, for the older generation without that support, we fill that role.”
Rosievel Luna, Meals on Wheels Manager, said the funds received through this program has helped with both safety and health.
“This event is going to help most seniors in Seminole County because all the funding that we collect here is going back to them,” said Luna. “It’s a big event that always gives back to our seniors whether it’s through food or knowledge, we’re here to spread awareness on how seniors can be safe.”
Meal on Wheels believes that help should always be available for those who need it, regardless of age.
“More and more seniors are needing our help, and social security and food stamps are not enough to support seniors so this is how we fall in place by doing an event like this,” said Luna.
For more information on Meals on Wheels, visit HERE.
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