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Home delivered meals now available to disabled
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Home delivered meals now available to disabled
Berkshire United Way has awarded a Venture Grant of $12,515 to AdLib, Inc. and Elder Services of Berkshire County, Inc. to jointly create and administer a new program, "Meals for Independence," which will offer Meals on Wheels to disabled individuals under age 60 in central and southern Berkshire. The grant, which runs from July 1, 2001 to June 30, 2002, will provide home delivered meals five days a week to up to 10 eligible persons with disabilities. AdLib will process requests for the meals and determine eligibility and Elder Services will prepare and deliver the meals to program participants.
In Berkshire County, home delivered meals have been provided for the elder population, but not for people under 60 with similar mobility challenges. Elder Services’s Executive Director, Catherine R. May stated, "For years, Elder Services has been concerned about those under 60 who needed Meals on Wheels. We have never been able to serve them because our nutrition funding, through the federal Older Americans Act, can only be used to provided Meals on Wheels to elders. The Berkshire United Way Venture Grant makes it possible to fill that long term unmet need, and we are delighted to work with AdLib on this exciting and innovative project."
Meals for Independence will utilize Elder Services’ existing Meals on Wheels delivery system to make hot, nutritious mid-day meals available to disabled community members. A side benefit of the meal delivery is a daily face-to-face contact with the driver, who will initiate appropriate procedures if the person doesn’t respond to the driver at the door.
There is a $2 per meal cost to the consumer. Interested persons should apply to AdLib, Inc., at 442-7047.