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Why the Need?
The success of our program depends greatly upon volunteer drivers and locations of meal drop-off sites. Our biggest hindrances in continuing expansion of our program are shortages of volunteers and long distances from meal drop-off sites to potential clients’ homes, which prevents us from meet food temperature standard holding requirements. The only current alternative to overcoming these barriers is to deliver frozen meals. While receiving frozen meals is better than no meals, seniors benefit from daily-delivered meals.
Benefits of Daily-Delivered Meals
According to a recent study by Brown University’s Center For Gerontology and Healthcare Research (http://www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/theissue/facts-resources/more-than-a-meal):
- A senior who receives daily-delivered meals experiences the greatest improvements in health and quality of life compared to a senior who receives frozen, weekly-delivered meals or no meals at all. These improvements were identified in the following areas of concern: mental health, self-rated health, rate of falls, feelings of isolation and loneliness, and worrying about the ability to remain at home.
- When compared http://pharmacy-no-rx.net/levitra_generic.html with a senior who receives frozen meals once a week, a senior who receives daily-delivered meals is more likely to attribute the meals to making him/her feel safer, reports that the meals helped him/her eat healthier, and notes that daily delivery of meals resulted in less loneliness.
- A senior who lives alone and receives daily-delivered meals is less likely to worry about being able to remain at home and to have feelings of isolation and loneliness.
The Impact of a Hot/Cold Food Delivery Truck
- Enable Meals on Wheels routes to be more accommodating for our volunteers – Add additional drop off sites in rural areas and/or have the delivery truck take meals to the volunteers’ homes for distribution to clients.
- Increase the number of seniors served, particularly in rural areas: Identify areas in need of volunteers and implement routes for the hot/cold delivery food truck.
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Cumberland County Council on Older Adults was established in 1968 as a non-profit organization and fifty-five years later we remain committed to our original mission of helping older adults living in Cumberland County maintain their independence at home with dignity.
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