Grant helps senior center provide home delivered meals

Friday, September 5, 2003

The Nevada Senior Center will now be able to increase the number of home-delivered meals that it can supply, thanks to a grant from the Altria Group, which is the parent company of Kraft Foods, Inc. and Philip Morris. According to a press release, the Nevada center will be receiving a $1,384 portion of a $48,000 grant the company is donating to the District III Area Agency on Aging. The money will be used to expand services in the 13-county area served by the agency, which gets half of the funds in 2003, and the other half in 2004. Nevada's portion of the grant will pay for an additional 338 meals and two new coolers to be used by the home delivery service. "As the elderly population increases in our service area, we see greater demand for our home-delivered meal service," said Ray Diekemeier, executive director of District III. "In the last year, we have had to be very careful as we expanded our program, to ensure we can continue this expansion in to the future, particularly in light of the state budget situation. Through this support from Altria companies, we have been able to expand our Vernon County meal program, assuring homebound seniors that they will receive at least one nutritious meal each day." In 2000, there were more than 44 million Americans who had reached age 60 or older, and four million were age 85 or older, making the senior group the fastest growing segment of the elderly population, In Vernon County, 20.5 percent of the population is age 60 or older. Statewide, that age group accounts for 18 percent of the population, and the nationwide percentage of those age 60 and older is 12 percent. America's Second Harvest, a network of more than 215 food banks and food rescue organizations, estimates that 1.1 million elderly people in the United States skip meals because they can't afford to purchase nutritious foods, or their physical condition limits their ability to shop for foods. "The Altria family of companies is committed to the fight against hunger and to supporting organizations that are working to meet immediate needs and develop long-term solutions in their communities," said Jennifer Goodale, vice president, contributions, Altria Corporate Services, Inc. "In communities nationwide, hunger and lack of adequate nutrition plagues a growing number of elderly people and that's why a particular emphasis of our Senior Helpings initiative is to alleviate waiting lists for homebound meal programs. Senior Helpings, in partnership with the national Meals-on-Wheels Foundation, provides support to hunger relief organizations that serve frail, homebound elderly. Since its inception in 1995, the program has provided more than four million meals to senior citizens across the country. District III Area Agency on Aging received a $50,000 grant from the Altria Family of Companies in 2000 for the same purpose. "We are exceedingly grateful for the only-going support Altria has provided for meals served to the homebound elderly throughout District III," Ray Diekemeier stated. "Their support has made a significant difference in our ability to expand the homebound meal program in rural areas, particularly in light of declining state revenues. We are hopeful their support will encourage other companies to support this important effort allowing our older friends, family members and neighbors to remain in their homes and in our communities." Founded in 1974, District III Area Agency on Aging is devoted to providing a network of home and community based services that allow older adults to live out their lives in maximum independence and dignity in their own homes and communities. the services range from information and assistance, to home delivered meals, to in-home services and transportation. For more information, please call the District III agency at (800)748-7826 or the Nevada Senior Center at (417) 667-5847.

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