March for Meals underway now

For 450 clients across 10 area counties, meals delivered to their homes by volunteers make all the difference in whether their nutrition is good or poor.

Meals on Wheels, the home delivery meal program coordinated by the Hertford-based Albemarle Commission’s Area Agency on Aging Senior Nutrition Program, ensures that eligible seniors receive nutritious meals each week. The program serves residents who either lack sufficient transportation or are not steady enough to leave home to seek their meals.

Since 1972, the national Senior Nutrition Program has supported nutrition services for older adults across the country. Funded by the Older Americans Act, local programs serve as hubs where people 60 and older find healthy meals and vital services that strengthen social connections and promote well-being.

Laura Rollinson, the Albemarle Commission’s senior nutrition program manager, said March is the month in which the program observes its anniversary and its accomplishments. It’s also the month for the “March for Meals” initiative in which Rollinson enlists the help of community leaders to help deliver meals to the program’s clients.

“Our agency partners with Community Champions to promote the need for continuation and the expansion of our senior nutrition program, including the congregant and home-delivered meal program,” Rollinson said.

Albemarle Commission’s Senior Nutrition Program offers both congregant and home-delivered meals in Region R, which includes Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Hyde, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Tyrrell and Washington counties.

Volunteers are needed for meal delivery five days a week in multiple counties, Rollinson said. There is a critical need for volunteers in Gates County where 10 volunteers are needed to serve two of the four routes.

In nine of the counties — Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Hyde, Pasquotank, Perquimans Tyrrell and Washington counties — meals are delivered Monday through Friday. A noontime meal is delivered, with the exception of on state holidays.

This year, the following “community champions” have committed to deliver meals in one of the 10 counties through the Albemarle Commission’s “March for Meals” initiative:

• Chowan Sheriff’s Sgt. K. White

• Chowan Sheriff’s Deputy H. Pierce

• State Sen. Bobby Hanig, R-Currituck

• Senior Tar Heel Legislature volunteer Kaye White

• Senior Tar Heel Legislature volunteer Susanne Kelly

• Currituck Commissioner Selina Jarvis

• Perquimans Sheriff Shelby White

• Tyrrell County Manager David Clegg

• Trey Lewis, an area representative for U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.

• John Tayloe, an area representative for U.S. Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C.

• Pasquotank Sheriff Tommy Wooten

• Pasquotank Sheriff’s Major A. Wallio

• Pasquotank Commissioner Charles Jordan

• Pasquotank Commissioner Barry Overman

• Brian Rollinson, president of Doug Williams Rick Gilbert Refrigeration Plumbing Heating and Air Conditioning Inc.

• Paul Thomas Creaso, president of Elizabeth City Noland Company

• Members of the Edenton Steamers Board of Directors.