(Photos: Senior Services of Alexandria)
City Officials Delivered Meals to Area Seniors during “March for Meals”
By MaryAnne Beatty
ALEXANDRIA, VA-The month of March was designed as “March for Meals” in the City of Alexandria in a proclamation signed by Mayor Justin Wilson at a recent City Council Meeting. March for Meals is a month-long, nationwide celebration of Meals on Wheels and our older adults who rely on the vital service to remain healthy and independent at home. Celebrations in Alexandria including “Community Champions” Week.” During the week of March 18, Senior Services enlisted elected officials, city officials from the Police and Sheriff Departments, Division of Aging and Adult Services and the Commission on Aging, to deliver meals raising awareness about the daily impact of Meals on Wheels.
”The services Senior Services of Alexandria and the City’s Division of Aging and Adult Services provide are a lifeline for seniors of Alexandria and the need is rapidly increasing,” said Mary Lee Anderson, Executive Director of Senior Services of Alexandria. “Together, we can keep our senior neighbors well-nourished, feeling safer and more connected to our community as they age.”
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. Since 2002, community-based Meals on Wheels programs from across the country have joined forces for the annual awareness campaign to celebrate this successful public-private partnership and garner the support needed to fill the gap between the seniors served and those still in need.
SSA’s volunteers deliver Meals on Wheels 365 days a year. We are always looking for volunteers to join us! For more information about volunteering or about Meals on Wheels contact Nathan Toews, SSA’s Meal Programs Director at 703-836-4414, ext. 112 or email at [email protected].
