Get Aboard the Meals on Wheels Bus

We all have fears about getting older.
For some it might be accumulating life's wrinkles and brown spots.
For others it could be loss of mobility or hearing or other symptom of a body's aging.

But for all too many here in Alameda County and elsewhere it is being able to afford a healthy, nutritious and tasty meal. (Or any meal at all).

That's where the Alameda County (CA) Meals on Wheels comes in.

I will be attending the organization's Five-Star-Night Gala, hosted by food and radio personality Narsai David, tomorrow night. We went last year as well and it was a fabulous night of culinary excess (with dancing) that never lost sight of its goal -- helping those who by age, income, health or other circumstance are helped by having a hot meal delivered to their doors, something that's done for more than 2,200 seniors every day in Alameda County.

Food for the May 1st gala is provided by local restaurants ranging from Flora , Bay Wolf and Citron to Picante and Bakeshop Betty. But the evening really isn't about the food. Except it is, only not the food I get to eat, but the food this gala will help put into the mouths (and the hearts) of its clientele.

The organization has funding for only half of each meal and must appeal to the public for the rest of the cost. To feed a senior a meal seven days a week for a year costs about $1,440, about the cost of one day in a hospital. The meals and the other services the six agencies that comprise the Alameda County Meals on Wheels organization offer help keep senior citizens independent and in their own homes.

I don't know if tickets are still available, but your donation to Meals on Wheels is always appreciated. Click here for info on tickets or to just donate. Or maybe make a bid on the on-line auction.

If you are not an Alameda County resident and you'd like to support or get services from your local Meals on Wheels organization, the Meals on Wheels Association of America provides a link to lcoate local agencies.

Update: The event raised $108,500, enough to serve 21,700 meals to seniors in the next year.