Pacific Grove, Calif. – March 16, 2022 – Meals on Wheels of the Monterey Peninsula (MOWMP) has spent the last half century providing nutritious meals, vital socialization, and other critical programs serving local ambulatory and homebound seniors, disabled adults, and veterans.
To celebrate this milestone, MOWMP will unveil its Walk of History exhibit at the Meals on Wheels Community Center Monday, March 21, from 11:30am to 1:30pm, along with light refreshments.
To continue the celebration, MOWMP will participate in March for Meals honoring the 50th anniversary of the Older Americans Act Nutrition Program, the federal legislation that helps to fund community-based programs across the country. Throughout the month of March, MOWMP will join the national Meals on Wheels network to raise awareness and rally support for this important public-private partnership that has helped provide Peninsula seniors with the essential services needed to remain healthy and independent at home.
“The Older Americans Act Nutrition Program is the only federally supported program designed to combat both senior hunger and isolation,” says Christine Winge, MOWMP’s executive director.
The annual March for Meals celebration commemorates the historic day in March of 1972 when President Nixon signed into law a measure that amended the Older Americans Act of 1965 to include a national nutrition program for seniors 60 years and older. Despite the growth of the country’s overall senior population, just 2 percent of charitable foundations in the United States focus on aging.
“Despite decades of proven success, funding for our Home Delivered Meals program has failed to keep pace with the rapidly growing needs in our County,” Winge continues. “With the County’s food insecure population increasing dramatically, now is the time to support our programs – through volunteering, donating, and spreading the word to help ensure we are able to deliver essential nutrition and socialization for another 50 years.”
“We are excited to promote and celebrate 50 years of success on the Monterey Peninsula and garner the support needed to ensure our programs will continue to address food insecurity, enabling independence, and improved health for years to come,” Winge concludes.
To learn more about ways to support the next 50 years of service for the Peninsula’s homebound population, click here.
