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In Delaware, homebound senior citizens do not go hungry. Meals on Wheels makes sure seniors who need them get hot meals every day.
While in other states, seniors must take their places on waiting lists, Delaware’s Meals on Wheels raises funds to make its services available to those in need.
“It can be heart wrenching when funding is the issue,” said Kathy Keuski, director of the Meals on Wheels of Lewes-Rehoboth office.
She said government funding has increased only about 1 percent in the last few years, while need in the county has increased by 10 percent. To ensure no one goes hungry, the organization raises funds, through events such as the upcoming Celebrity Chefs Beach Brunch, slated Sunday, Oct. 1.
Meals on Wheels delivers at least one hot meal each day to homebound seniors, and often provides a bag lunch or breakfast shake.
“Its such a good feeling to know I don’t have to tell someone they won’t have a meal today,” Keuski said. Meals on Wheels Delaware provides what Keuski called a safety net to help cover costs when federal and state grants don’t bring in enough money to pay for meals.
“Every year we use statewide Meals on Wheels money in our area because the demand is rising,” she said. The money pays for food and cooks, while the drivers are all volunteers.
Building a safety net
The largest fundraiser in Sussex County is almost here, and Meals on Wheels is counting on it to be a huge success. The third annual Celebrity Beach Brunch, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 1, at the BayCenter in Dewey Beach, will help raise money for that safety net to keep seniors fed.
Supporters of Meals on Wheels will enjoy elegant entrees and libations while helping the program at the beach brunch. It will feature more than 30 top chefs from the area who have all volunteered their time as well as breakfast and lunch entrees, including sweet and savory treats to the event. Wine, cocktails, and live music and a silent auction round out the day’s offerings.
With the help of guests at the beach brunch, Sussex County’s seniors won’t go hungry, or be too lonely.
Bringing smiles
“In many cases for people receiving the meals, the volunteers are the only human contact they will have all day,” said Rich Taylor of the CHEER Center in Georgetown.
“It’s not just nutrition, but a whole program that lessens depression and keeps people in their homes as long as possible,” Taylor said. He said some of the people eventually go into nursing homes, but Meals on Wheels tries to keep them at home and comfortable for as long as possible.
When severe weather is expected and just before long holiday weekends, volunteers bring extra food to make sure seniors will be okay during the break. “We try to cover them until they can get visited again,” Taylor said.
Delivering daily meals
Two agencies funded through Meals on Wheels are the CHEER Center in Georgetown and the Lewes and Rehoboth Meals on Wheels office, which together serve the entire county. CHEER Center covers most of the western side of Sussex while the Lewes and Rehoboth office delivers meals in the Cape Region.
CHEER is the largest beneficiary of Meals on Wheels money because it has the greatest need and the most volunteers.
“Sussex County is full of people with warm, big hearts. They do an awful lot without asking for recognition or any reward,” Taylor said. He said hundreds of people volunteer to drive meals each year in the county.
Last year beach brunch raised $104,000 for Meals on Wheels, with 30 restaurants participating.
This year’s event planners say it will be larger and hope it will raise even more money to feed homebound seniors. For more information or to purchase tickets for $75 each, call 1-800-62 MEALS or 302-656-3257. Tickets are also available at the Thunderbird Shop on Rehoboth Avenue and Second Street in Rehoboth Beach, at the CHEER Center in Georgetown, and WSFS Bank on Savannah Road in Lewes.
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