January - March 2020

Ensuring That No Senior Goes Hungry Before Serving Our Seniors was founded in 1996, senior citizens who lived beyond the Sandusky city limits did not have access to home delivered meals to help them maintain their independence. In 2019, Serving Our Seniors provided funds for the delivery of 22,221 meals. The food is prepared at the Erie County Senior Center. The Senior Center recruits, trains and manages the volunteers who deliver these meals. The Senior Center covers the costs for the meals for residents of Sandusky and some parts of Perkins Township. Serving Our Seniors covers the costs for all other meals delivered throughout Erie County. Serving Our Seniors also purchases and maintains the yellow trucks the volunteers use to deliver the meals outside of Sandusky. The partnership between the Erie County Senior Center and Serving Our Seniors ensures that no senior in Erie County goes hungry. After 24 years of delivering and serving meals to the homebound, the impact this program has made for older adults is beyond measure. The program would not be possible without the extraordinary commitment of volunteers. Meals are delivered five days a week, 52 weeks of the year (no holidays). If you are wondering what motivates the volunteers to contribute their valuable time to this program, please look closely at the faces of those in these pictures who are receiving a meal, and those who are delivering the meal, and you will have your answer. Clearly, these are special friendships for all involved. Tom Nigro and Jeanette Jeanette (above, right), is a retired nurse who has been receiving hot home delivered meals for about two years. She was familiar with the program from her father’s experience with home delivered meals when his heart problems became severe. Jeanette said, “I decided to try it for myself when a social worker at the hospital recommended it. I’m receiving a balanced meal and that’s helpful. I find that I look forward to the volunteers stopping by to deliver the meal, too. They are so nice.” Tim Niemeyer and Dr. John Schaefer 6