SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — Wednesday, Sept. 20, was day two of Meals for the Elderly‘s “Day of Champions.”

Several volunteers from Meals to the Elderly paired up with Concho Valley leaders to show the day-to-day experience of delivering to those who are homebound.

Our Maya Skinner was there taking part in delivering. She tagged along with Johnny Garza, vice president of Meals for the Elderly, and City Councilman Larry Miller. The group had an opportunity to make nearly 10 stops to help those in need and socialize with them. 

“A lot of people think that senior hunger senior malnutrition is just kind of an isolated incident. They think that ‘no, it can’t be anywhere in my neighborhood,’ but the truth of the matter is it could be your next-door neighbor and you would never even know it,” said Dason Tucker, executive director of Meals for the Elderly.

Each week, 600 to 700 meals are delivered to clients, along with wellness checks and some socializing. Dennis McKee tells us he used to play in a few bands.

“Since I’ve had — I’ve actually had two strokes, but the last one I had was pretty bad, and I can’t drive, and I can’t play my guitars anymore. I can barely just get around. So, it’s very nice, but I don’t have to go to the store to buy groceries and stuff all the time,” KcKee said.

Tucker says the service will meet a milestone of 50 years in 2024.

“We are always in desperate need of two things, and that is volunteers and donations. Unlike a lot of other Meals on Wheels programs across the nation, we are completely privately funded. So, we are sustained via grants and donor dollars, and that’s it,” he said.

The experience also taught Maya to always take time to lend a hand and check in on her elderly neighbors.