Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation Supports Meals on Wheels
PITTSFIELD - Elder Services of Berkshire County has received two grants, totaling $9,107, from Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation's William J. and Margery S. Barrett and Central Berkshire funds.The Barrett Fund, which gave $5,907, serves those who live in Adams, Cheshire and Savoy, and the Central Berkshire Fund, which gave $3,200, will benefit those who live in Becket, Dalton, Hinsdale, Peru, Washington, and Windsor.
The funding is designated for Elder Services' Nutrition/Meals on Wheels program, which provides hot meals to more than 800 homebound elders each weekday. In 2007, Elder Services served 270,148 meals of which 221,735 were delivered as Meals on Wheels to frail elders who might not otherwise have had a hot meal or a friendly visit. The remaining 48,413 were served to seniors attending Elder Services' 14 lunch sites located throughout the county.
Federal funding for the program has remained basically the same for more than a decade, while the cost of preparing, serving, and delivering the meals continues to grow year after year, leaving the program underfunded. The nutrition program has been generating a significant deficit each year, which Elder Services addresses in part through community fundraising efforts.
These grants will help ensure that Berkshire elders who need home-delivered meals will continue to receive them.
Elder Services' Meals on Wheels is essential to the agency's mission to provide Berkshire seniors the opportunity to live with dignity, independence and self-determination, and to achieve the highest possible quality of life.
