MEALS-ON-WHEELS

Can you afford to donate 2 hours of your time, one morning each month? If so, you can make a huge difference in helping to eradicate a serious, but seldom mentioned nationwide problem - senior hunger.

In a November, 2009 study released by the Meals On Wheels Association of America, researchers found that between 2001 and 2007, the number of American senior citizens facing a risk of hunger increased substantially, and in several states, the percentage of senior experiencing hunger was as high as 12.5 percent of the senior population. Those numbers are unacceptable. Once more, people should know that hunger among the senior population is not just confined to seniors living in poverty. A substantial number of seniors with income above the federal poverty guidelines still struggle to put food on their table and are frequently faced with the prospect of not eating in order to pay for their housing and/or medical bills.

How can your two hours help address the senior citizen hunger crisis? The answer is simple: Become a meal-on-wheels driver. For a commitment of only two hours a month, you can make a huge difference by delivering meals to home-bound senior citizens who otherwise face a very real risk of senior hunger. The sacrifice of your time is easy, and the satisfaction to be gained by your helping neighbors in need is extremely rewarding.

Plus, your volunteer efforts help reduce the taxpayer's load when it comes to paying for hospital and nursing home care for our nation's senior citizens. The cost of providing a year's worth of meals to a senior citizen through the meal-on-wheels program is less than the cost to the government of placing a senior in a nursing home for one month. That’s because helping seniors avoid hunger allows them to stay in their homes far longer than would otherwise occur. In that respect the meals-on-wheels program is a win for seniors and a win for taxpayers.

America owes a debt to its seniors for their years of hard work and sacrifice. Being a meals-on-wheels volunteer is a great way to help repay that debt.