Meals on Wheels - March for Meals

It takes a village each and every day for Meals on Wheels Programs & Services of Rockland to serve the community’s seniors and homebound neighbors, and only with the support of hundreds of volunteers each month can the agency help meet their needs. The agency participated in the national 2015 March for Meals campaign (www.marchformeals.com) to rally and mobilize even more volunteers and community members to raise awareness of senior hunger and to encourage action on the part of the local community.

Meals on Wheels Programs & Services of Rockland’s participation will also enable the agency to apply for a grant from the Meals On Wheels Association of America for up to $10,000 to further support nutrition and other programs for Rockland’s seniors.

Meals on Wheels Programs & Services of Rockland held several events and participated in a Community Champions Week March 16th-20th as a part of its March for Meals Campaign.

We were very pleased to report that we had the following local celebrities participate as Community Champions: Local actor and Fox News anchor Patricia Stark (https://www.linkedin.com/in/patriciastark) served meals at our Clarkstown/Pearl River Senior Center, Local child actor James Digiacomo {known for Amazon Fire phone commercial (http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7RZB/amazon-fire-phone-hipster-kids) and now appearing on Disney Channel Show K.C. Undercover} entertained seniors at our Ramapo Senior Center, and Rockland professional baseball team Rockland Boulders pitchers Nate Roe and Bo Budkevics and the team mascot, “the Boulder Bird,” delivered meals and entertained seniors at our Adult Day program as well as at four of our agency’s senior centers.

In addition, we had the following 20 local legislators participate as Community Champions:
State Senator David Carlucci, NY State Assembly Member Ken Zebrowski, Rockland County Sheriff Louis Falco III, Rockland County Executive Ed Day, Rockland County Town Clerk Justin Sweet, Rockland County Clerk Paul Piperato, Rockland County Legislators Aney Paul and Alden Wolfe, Town of Haverstraw Supervisor Howard Phillips, Town of Orangetown Supervisor Andy Stewart, Suffern Mayor Patricia Abato, Nyack Mayor Jen White, Town of Ramapo Mayor Marshall F. Katz, Town of Clarkstown Councilman George Hoehmann, Town of Clarkstown Town Justice Scott B. Ugell, Village of Haverstraw Trustee Thomas Watson, Jr., Village of Nyack Trustees Marie T. Lorenzini, Louise Parker and Doug Foster, and Nyack Village Administrator Jim Politi all participated as Community Champions by either delivering meals to the homebound or by serving meals and/or visiting seniors at one of our five senior centers in the County.

“In this tough economy, the food and human contact we provide to seniors in this community is needed more than ever,” said Don Hammond, President & CEO of Meals on Wheels Programs & Services of Rockland. “It means a lot to know that several of our local elected officials along with local celebrities supported Meals on Wheels during our March for Meals campaign,” added Hammond.

About Meals on Wheels Programs & Services of Rockland
In the agency’s 40 years of delivering meals to the community’s homebound population Meals on Wheels has proudly served well over eight million meals. Meals on Wheels continues to advance its mission by providing for the nutritional needs of the elderly, reaching out to frail, isolated, and disadvantaged individuals and by providing a myriad of support services to those served. Through the Homebound Meal Delivery Program, Senior Centers, Adult Day Care of Rockland at the Bobbi Lewis Center and other programs, the agency has impacted the lives of thousands of Rockland residents and their families.

Meals on Wheels is a County Contract Agency operating with funding from the federal government Older Americans Act, New York State, the Office for Aging, the County of Rockland, towns and villages, fees for services, grants and private contributions. For further information call 845-624-6325.