Syracuse Kicks Off March for Meals
/FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Meals on Wheels of Syracuse Kicking Off March for Meals Campaign
Support will help to continue feeding homebound seniors in our community
Syracuse, NY – March 1, 2014 – Meals on Wheels of Syracuse has kicked off its participation in the national 2014 March for Meals campaign, highlighting increased health problems for seniors at risk of hunger.
“In this tough economy, the food and human contact we provide to seniors in this community is needed more than ever,” said Mason Kaufman, Executive Director of Meals on Wheels of Syracuse. “We need the community to support our program. Our clients are counting on us. We can’t let them down.”
Kaufman shares a new study released by the National Foundation to End Senior Hunger.
New Study Reveals Increased Health Problems for Seniors at Risk of Hunger
The study examines how trends in health and nutrition outcomes among food secure and food insecure seniors have changed over the past decade. The findings reveal that food insecure seniors “were at higher risk of experiencing negative nutrition and health consequences than food secure seniors.” Specifically, seniors at risk of hunger were:
- 50 percent more likely to be diabetic
- Twice as likely to report fair or poor general health
- Three times more likely to suffer from depression
- 30 percent more likely to report at least one activities of daily living (ADL) limitation
- 14 percent more likely to have high blood pressure
- Nearly 60 percent more likely to have congestive heart failure or experienced a heart attack
- Twice as likely to report having gum disease or have asthma
“Our Meals on Wheels programs are on the front lines every day in the battle against senior hunger,” said Meals on Wheels Association of American President and CEO Ellie Hollander. “March for Meals is a time when communities can come together to stand with their local Meals on Wheels program and support our mission to end senior hunger in America .”
For more information on March for Meals, visit www.marchformeals.com.
About Meals on Wheels of Syracuse :
Meals on Wheels of Syracuse provides nutritious home-delivered meals to seniors, people with disabilities, and those recovering from an accident or illness of all ages. Many would go hungry or be unable to remain in their homes without these meals. We serve 800 people nearly 195,000 meals annually. Meals on Wheels of Syracuse is the fourth oldest Meals on Wheels program in the United States and has been feeding our homebound neighbors since 1959. For more information, visit www.meals.org or call (315) 478-5948.