The Oklahoma City Community Foundation is helping provide warm meals to homebound elderly citizens this winter by awarding $53,400 in grants to 51 churches and organizations participating in Mobile Meals of Oklahoma County, including seven Christian churches. In addition, $5,000 each was awarded to Edmond Mobile Meals and Meals on Wheels of Norman.
The Oklahoma City Community Foundation has supported central Oklahoma’s Mobile Meals programs since 2008, awarding more than $350,000 over the past decade. According to the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, the need for continued nutrition assistance is vital as Oklahoma’s senior citizen population continues to grow at an unprecedented rate. The organization’s most recent State Plan on Aging reported 19 percent of our state’s population is now over age 60.
“Today, one in five Americans is over the age of 60 with the population expected to nearly double by 2060,” said Cristi Twenter, executive director of Edmond Mobile Meals. “Roughly 17 percent of Oklahoma’s senior population struggles with hunger. Nine percent of those seniors in our state are living in poverty, and 26 percent of Oklahoma seniors live alone. Grant programs to assist Mobile Meals programs are crucial in helping to keep pace with the growing demand for services. We believe no senior in our community should have to make a choice between paying for food, medication and other necessities, which is why we never base service on a client’s ability to pay for meals.”
The Christian churches reported their volunteers provide nutritious meals, wellness checks and meaningful contact to more than 160 homebound senior citizens living in central Oklahoma who are unable to prepare their own meals.
“For nearly 50 years, the Oklahoma City Community Foundation has listened to both the needs of our community and to the wishes of our donors, leading us to focus on the health and wellness of senior citizens in the community,” said Nancy B. Anthony, Oklahoma City Community Foundation. “Our local Mobile Meals programs are crucial to seniors in this community, and we’re privileged to have the opportunity to support their work.”
Grants were awarded to the following Christian churches that provide meals through Mobile Meals of Oklahoma County:
- Crown Heights Christian Church
- First Christian Church
- Hillcrest Christian Church
- New Covenant Christian Church
- Nicoma Park Christian Church
- Putnam City Christian Church
- Western Oaks Christian Church
About the Oklahoma City Community Foundation
Founded in 1969, the Oklahoma City Community Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity that works with donors to create charitable funds that will benefit our community both now and in the future. To learn more about the Oklahoma City Community Foundation, visit www.occf.org.
