SUPPORT WILL HELP ADDRESS SENIOR HUNGER AND ISOLATION IN GREATER HOUSTON
HOUSTON (March 11, 2024) – Interfaith Ministries’ Meals on Wheels for Greater Houston and Galveston County will hold Meals on Wheels delivery ride-a-longs with community leaders as part of #SaveLunch – a nationwide campaign led by Meals on Wheels America designed to rally communities around our senior neighbors and protect the essential services that enable so many to remain healthy and independent at home. Across the country this month, Meals on Wheels programs have enlisted elected officials, community influencers, and other prominent figures to deliver meals, speak out for seniors, and raise awareness for the power of Meals on Wheels.
Interfaith Ministries’ Meals on Wheels for Greater Houston and Galveston County program provides home-delivered meals to an average of over 5,600 homebound seniors and adults with disabilities in four counties – Harris, Galveston, Montgomery, and Liberty. The program also delivers weekend meals and breakfast food to the most frail and isolated seniors. This nutritional support helps people stay independent and in their own homes.
Meals on Wheels for Greater Houston and Galveston County is able to serve clients with the help of partners like the Harris County Area Agency on Aging, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, and Managed Care Organizations serving Southeast Texas. In conjunction with the Harris County Community Services Department, Interfaith Ministries reaches out to the remote areas of Harris County, serving elders across the county. Interfaith Ministries also partners with organizations in Liberty and Montgomery Counties to deliver these meals.
Additionally, our Animeals program delivers pet food to over 1,300 cats and dogs of Meals on Wheels seniors.
National #SaveLunch efforts in March will commemorate the historic day in March of 1972 when the Older Americans Act was amended to include a nutrition program for Americans 60 years and older. More than 50 years later, 12 million older Americans are still threatened by or experience hunger, and one in three seniors feels isolated. That is why Meals on Wheels programs from across the country are joining forces to raise awareness and support to ensure we can continue to address food insecurity and malnutrition, combat social isolation, enable independence, and improve health for decades to come.
“In the face of soaring demand and costs that surpass our current resources, we need to come together as communities to bridge the gaps. We can’t do it alone – it takes all of us to save lunch for our seniors,” says Martin B. Cominsky, President and CEO of Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston. The need for Meals on Wheels is greater than ever, at a time when food costs are high and donations have declined.
For more information on how you can help seniors in Greater Houston and Galveston County this March, visit https://www.imgh.org/donate/meals/.
ABOUT INTERFAITH MINISTRIES FOR GREATER HOUSTON
A United Way partner, Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston (Interfaith Ministries) brings people of diverse faith traditions together for dialogue, collaboration, and service, as a demonstration of our shared beliefs. Interfaith Ministries provides four main services: Meals on Wheels for Greater Houston and Galveston County which delivers more than 1.9 million meals each year to homebound seniors and people with disabilities across four counties; Refugee Services which, in conjunction with the U.S. State Department, resettles thousands of refugees in Houston; Interfaith Relations and Community Partnerships, which provides community services fostering understanding, respect and engagement among Houstonians of all faiths; the Vic Samuels Center for Volunteerism and Civic Service, which establishes a positive and lasting impact on the Greater Houston community through organized service and leadership through Volunteer Houston and SERVE HOUSTON. For more information, visit https://www.imgh.org/.
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