If you put on your green race shirts, braved potential rough weather, came out to the Kissimmee Lakefront for Saturday’s March For Meals and helped support the county’s Meals on Wheels effort to combat senior hunger … then you are part helper and part warrior.
Wilda Belisle, the Osceola Council on Aging Vice President of Nutrition, who keeps the Meals on Wheels program rolling, thanks you from the bottom of her heart. The 2020 event was canceled due to COVID-19, the 2021 one was held with restrictions and guidelines, and the event is the program’s biggest fundraiser of the year to provide meals to the homebound and transportation to get that life-giving food out to them.
And, as Saturday was an important day for Osceola Meals on Wheels — about $20,000 was raised at the 5K — Wednesday will be an important day as well.
Meals on Wheels now serves about 575 seniors in Osceola County. That number more than doubled during the pandemic, as some seniors lost their transportation to the market, or heeded warnings to quarantine. In turn, it made finding volunteers to deliver food more of a challenge.
At the national level, Meals on Wheels has a March For Meals campaign during the month of March to bring awareness to these issues. Locally, the Osceola chapter is looking for those in the community to help raise awareness for the growing number of seniors facing hunger and isolation, each of them serious problems — everywhere.
Osceola Meals on Wheels will hold an “Our Champions for Senior Hunger” Wednesday from 9 a.m. to about noon, where volunteers can help prepare or deliver meals to senior clients. Those who wish to participate should email or call Belisle at belislew@osceola-coa.com or 407- 847-2144 and arrive at the Barney E. Veal Center (700 Generation Point in Kissimmee) by 9 a.m.
“This is important for us to create awareness,” Belisle said. “We’re still trying to catch up. Some of our drivers are seniors themselves and weren’t able to do routes because of the pandemic, and we had to create even more routes to serve all of our new clients.
“We were lucky during the height of COVID that Sheriff ’s Office school resource officers were able to help us when the schools closed. They’re helping now during Spring Break. We’ve also been lucky to have corporate volunteers from the Supervisor of Elections office, the (Osceola County Association of) Realtors and other companies. We’re hoping that people see how fulfilling it is and will become regular volunteers.”
This year the county celebrates the 50th anniversary of Older American’s Act Nutrition Program, the act that created the national Meals on Wheels program.
