This winter, Oklahoma City Community Foundation
is continuing its tradition of helping to provide warm meals to homebound
elderly citizens by awarding $50,200 in grants to 52 area churches and
organizations that prepare and deliver mobile meals throughout Oklahoma County,
including All Souls Episcopal Church, Episcopal Church of the Resurrection and
St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral in Oklahoma City. In addition, Meals on Wheels of Norman and Edmond Mobile Meals each received $5,000 grants.
For Immediate Release– December 23, 2019
Grants Help Provide Warm Meals to Local Homebound Elderly Citizens
Oklahoma City Community Foundation Awards Grants to Three Episcopal Churches
(OKLAHOMA CITY) – This winter, Oklahoma City Community Foundation is continuing its tradition of helping to provide warm meals to homebound elderly citizens by awarding $50,200 in grants to 52 area churches and organizations that prepare and deliver mobile meals throughout Oklahoma County, including All Souls Episcopal Church, Episcopal Church of the Resurrection and St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral in Oklahoma City. In addition, Meals on Wheels of Norman and Edmond Mobile Meals each received $5,000 grants.
Since 2008, the Oklahoma City Community Foundation has distributed more than $400,000 in support of the central Oklahoma Mobile Meals program. According to Meals on Wheels of Oklahoma City, one in 12 senior citizens in Oklahoma County lives in poverty, and nearly 16,000 lack consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life. Seniors age 60 and older who are unable to leave their homes without assistance or prepare meals due to health limitations, may apply to receive home-delivered meals, regardless of income.
“When we think of hunger, we generally think of people in faraway lands. But drive down any street in Oklahoma City and you’re likely to pass the home of a senior – probably several seniors – receiving home-delivered meals,” said Chris Lambert, director of Meals on Wheels of Oklahoma City. “Meals on Wheels of Oklahoma City works with scores of volunteers throughout Oklahoma County to deliver meals to hundreds of homebound seniors every day. None of these churches receive state or federal funding for the meals they prepare; it’s the continued generosity of organizations like Oklahoma City Community Foundation and its donors that allows them to keep serving our most vulnerable neighbors.”
Volunteers with area churches and organizations provide nutritious meals, wellness checks and meaningful contact to more than 1,900 homebound senior citizens living in central Oklahoma who are unable to prepare their own meals. In addition, Edmond Mobile Meals prepares more than 1,100 meals per week and the Norman Meals on Wheels program serves more than 1,500 meals per week.
“The well-being of our senior citizens has deservedly become an increased focus for a lot of our donor-directed grants,” said Nancy B. Anthony, Oklahoma City Community Foundation president. “To round out our 50th anniversary year, we have again partnered with more than 50 churches and Meals on Wheels organizations to help ensure no senior in this community will go hungry this holiday season.”
About the Oklahoma City Community Foundation
Founded in 1969, the Oklahoma City Community Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity that works with donors to create charitable funds that will benefit our community both now and in the future. To learn more about the Oklahoma City Community Foundation, visit www.occf.org.
Photo identification:
Mobile Meals program
volunteers are delivering warm meals to homebound senior citizens in central
Oklahoma.