Dunkirk-Fredonia Meals on Wheels, a United Way agency, announces that the Mayors March for Meals took place on Wednesday, March 23, despite heavy snow which blanketed the area. Mayor Kurt Lindstrom of Silver Creek, along with the city of Dunkirk councilman at large A.J. Dolce and County Legislators Bob Scudder, District 24, and Tom DeJoe, District 23, participated in this event.
Due to conflicts, Mayors Michael Sullivan of Fredonia, J. Dale Abram of Brocton and Deputy Mayor Beth Bowker of Forestville agreed to deliver on alternate dates, as did County Legislator Jerry Parks, District 5 and Legislator George Borrello District 4.
March for Meals is a national campaign coordinated by the Meals on Wheels Association of America (MOWAA). The Month of March was selected because it was during March 1972 that Congress passed legislation to include senior meal programs in the Older Americans Act.
Article Photos
Submitted Photo
From left: County Legislators Bob Scudder and Tom DeJoe, Silver Creek Mayor Kurt Lindstrom and Dunkirk Councilman-at-Large A.J. Dolce.
The march focuses on awareness of senior hunger programs, sends out an appeal to recruit new volunteers and helps raise funds to support the local operation.
This year, 1,340 mayors and elected officials across the United States and Canada participated in this event by assisting volunteer and van drivers with their meal deliveries to people who can no longer cook due to physical or mental limitations. This community service has allowed many in Northern Chautauqua County to remain independently at home.
This year Dunkirk-Fredonia Meals on Wheels is appealing to local churches, organizations, businesses and municipalities to participate in the March for Meals by sponsoring the elected official in their community when they deliver meals.
Meals continue to be prepared at Brooks Memorial Hospital under the guidance of a registered dietician. Each meal contains one third of the USRDA daily required nutrients. In the year 2010, Dunkirk-Fredonia Meals on Wheels delivered 80,232 meals to residents and senior dining sites in Dunkirk, Fredonia, Silver Creek, Irving, Forestville, Brocton and Portland.
Meals on Wheels would like to thank the mayors and elected officials for taking time from a busy schedule to support the March for Meals which highlights the senior nutrition program.
For referral information, volunteerism or financial support of this special event, call the Meals on Wheels office at 366-8822.
