Feed More volunteer Sonya Feeser (Photo courtesy Sonya Feeser/Feed More)
Feed More’s Meals on Wheels reached a milestone on Oct. 27 with the delivery of its 10 millionth meal since the program began in October 1967.
That’s the equivalent of the nonprofit providing three meals a day to 50 four-person families for nearly 46 years. Another way of looking at it would be if Feed More provided each person in the city of Richmond — 226,604, according to the U.S. Census’ July 2021 estimate — one meal a day for 44 days.
That’s a lot of food.
“Our Meals on Wheels program allows us to meet the unique needs of each client and address the dietary needs of our neighbors at scale,” Amory James, director of Meals on Wheels and Community Kitchen, says via email. “With menus tailored to accommodate more than 14 different diet types, Feed More works to address health disparities and ensure that our homebound neighbors who cannot shop or cook for themselves are receiving the food they need to thrive.”
Meals on Wheels serves about 1,000 senior and homebound residents on weekdays via roughly 100 neighborhood routes in the Richmond region. During the pandemic, delivery continued, though drivers brought a week’s worth of meals to recipients on a single day. The program resumed daily delivery in March 2022.
In addition to providing sustenance, Meals on Wheels volunteers, who typically visit the same clients from week to week, can notify the home office if they are concerned for a client’s well-being.
“Feed More’s Meals on Wheels program has always been committed to the same goal: keeping our senior and homebound neighbors healthy and independent with wholesome meals and regular social interaction from our caring volunteers,” James says. “We’re so proud to celebrate this incredible milestone 55 years later.”
