For Immediate Release
Vermont V4A
Janet Hunt, Executive Director
While the recent Bernie meme and sweatshirt sales have sold out and all proceeds are
going toward Senator Sanders home state of Vermont for the meals on wheels
programs, we, at the Vermont Association of Area Agencies on Aging (V4A) couldn't be
more ecstatic.
Carol Stamatakis, president of V4A and executive director of Senior Solutions, the
Council on Aging for Southeastern Vermont, reports, “We at Senior Solutions are
overwhelmed by Senator Sanders’ generosity! We continue to be grateful that our
Senator has been such a leader at the national level on older adult issues. I have been
getting calls from friends and family all over the country of all ages telling me they are
ordering sweatshirts!”
Courtney Anderson, the nutrition director and co-director for Southwestern Vermont
Council on Aging said, “We are incredibly humbled by the extremely generous gift from
Senator Bernie Sanders. For years the meals on wheels program has been
underfunded, and we struggle statewide to serve our most vulnerable
population. These proceeds will help continue to meet the ever-increasing nutritional
needs of our older Vermonters”.
Our five Area Agencies on Aging located throughout the state are members of Meals on
Wheels America whose mission is to empower local community programs to improve
the health and quality of life of the seniors they serve so that no one is left hungry or
isolated. The meals on wheels program is otherwise termed as home-delivered meals.
Each of the AAAs contracts with local meal providers to offer four to five thousand home
delivered meals per week. In November 2020 alone our AAAs meal programs provided
a weekly total of nearly 25,000 meals.
The meals on wheels program has gained international attention since Senator Sanders
generous sweatshirt sales. To provide a bit of history, the federal Older Americans Act
(OAA) established a national nutrition program in 1972 for adults who were 60 and
older. The OAA Nutrition Programs include community nutrition program sites and the
home delivered nutrition programs (Meals-on-Wheels) for the purpose of 1. reducing
hunger and food insecurity, 2. promoting socialization, 3. promoting health and wellbeing, 4. delaying adverse health conditions.
The home-delivered program is often the
first in-home service that an older adult receives and serves as a primary access point
for other home and community-based services. Volunteers and paid staff who deliver
meals to older adults often spend time with the individual to help decrease feelings of
isolation. They are also encouraged to report any health or other issues that they may
observe.
All meals provide at least one third of the daily recommended dietary allowances for
adults age 60 and older, in greatest economic and/or social need, with particular
attention to low-income minorities, those in rural areas, and those with limited English
proficiency. The intent is to make community-based nutrition services available to older
adults who may be at risk of losing their independence.
Jane Catton, vice-president of V4A and chief operations officer of Age Well states, “Age
Well is humbled by this contribution to our meals on wheels programs and we are
grateful to Senator Sanders for his generosity and inspiring leadership. These proceeds
will ensure that we continue to meet the ever-increasing needs of older Vermonters; so
many of whom are left behind alone and hungry. Meals on wheels provides nutritious
meals, friendly visits and safety checks, allowing older adults to remain in their homes
where they want to be. Senator Sanders has been a powerful advocate for older
Vermonters, and we are so grateful for this support as he shines a light on the
importance of meals on wheels and adequate nutrition for those in need”.
On a call today with Senator Sanders and our AAAs directors and staff, he indicated
that he would advocate in his role with the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions to fill the funding gap for meals on wheels. “This is encouraging”, reports
Janet Hunt, executive director for the V4A. “There are not nearly enough federal or state
dollars to meet the ever-increasing demands to provide nutritious meals to our older
adults. We are constantly needing to seek funds through state legislation and through
fundraising efforts on a local level. At present, we need to fill about a $5 per meal gap to
make ends meet. We don’t want anyone to go hungry. These funds are not simply for
the meal itself, either. The funds are needed for supplies, storage and refrigeration,
packaging. I don’t know that everyone truly understands – or appreciates - all that goes
into that one meal. Senator Sanders certainly knows, and I am certain that is why he is
sending all proceeds from the Bernie meme sweatshirt to our agencies.”
With the onset of COVID-19, AAAs and providers quickly realized that community meal
sites needed to shut-down and home-delivered meals had to be ramped-up. Meg
Burmeister, executive director for the Northeast Kingdom Council on Aging (NEKCOA)
speaks about the increase in demand, “NEKCOA has seen an unprecedented number
of people reaching out for the home delivered meals program during the pandemic. The
strain on our systems to provide those meals is certainly a testament to the committed
meal programs in our region in this largely underfunded program. Senator Sanders’
generosity in light of the humorous meme’s refocuses all on the needs to support this
program.”
“Senator Sanders has always demonstrated a deep concern about food insecurity in the
older Vermonter population”, says Kathy Paquet, the Central Vermont Council on Aging
director of nutrition and wellness. “For over 40 years, Central Vermont Council on
Aging’s meals on wheels program has been delivering nutritious meals to older adults in
their homes while also providing much needed social connections for those central
Vermonters. During this COVID-19 crisis, many more older Vermonters have needed
the meals on wheels program. The financial support from Senator Sanders’ sweatshirt
fund will go directly to our local contracted nutrition programs and volunteers who
directly provide this essential service. We cannot thank Senator Sanders enough for
this generous donation!”
