Citymeals-on-Wheels facts for kids

Citymeals on Wheels, also known as Citymeals, is a special organization in New York City. It's a non-profit group that helps older people who can't easily leave their homes. They raise money to deliver warm meals and offer friendly visits to these elderly New Yorkers. This helps make sure they have good food and don't feel lonely.

How Citymeals Started

Citymeals on Wheels was created in 1981 by two amazing people: Gael Greene and James Beard. Gael Greene got the idea after reading a newspaper story. It said that many older New Yorkers who couldn't leave their homes had no food on weekends or holidays.

She talked to James Beard, and together they decided to do something. Their first project was to provide Christmas dinners for 6,000 elderly people. This cost about $35,000, and it was a huge success! This inspired them to keep helping people every year.

Citymeals on Wheels has a yearly budget of about $20 million. In 2016, more than 15,000 volunteers helped out. Most of the money for Citymeals comes from donations by regular people.

The current leader of Citymeals is Beth Shapiro. She became the executive director in 2011.

Helping in Emergencies

On October 29, 2018, Citymeals opened a new special building. It's called the Joan & Bob Tisch Emergency Meal Distribution Center. This big warehouse is in Hunts Point, Bronx.

They planned this center after Hurricane Sandy in New York hit. It helps Citymeals deliver more meals when there's an emergency. This way, they can make sure people still get food, even during tough times.

Since it started in 1981, Citymeals has delivered around 60 million meals. They now provide about 2 million meals every year!

What Citymeals Does

Citymeals on Wheels delivers free meals to older New Yorkers who can't get food easily. They also check on these people to make sure they are doing okay. This is called a "wellness check."

The organization works with local meal centers. These centers prepare and deliver meals on Saturdays and Sundays. This is important because government funding usually only covers meals during the week. Citymeals also makes sure meals are delivered on holidays.

Another important part of Citymeals is "friendly visiting." Volunteer groups spend time with older people who might feel lonely. This helps them feel more connected and less isolated.

Meals for Holidays

Citymeals provides money so that meal centers can stay open on holidays. This is for older people who can walk in. Volunteers also deliver meals to those who can't leave their homes.

Citymeals helps fund holiday meals for many special days. These include Rosh Hashanah, Thanksgiving, Chanukah, New Year’s Day, and Easter.

Holiday Food Boxes

Sometimes, local meal centers close for holidays throughout the year. When this happens, Citymeals makes sure their clients still have food. They give out boxes of food that doesn't spoil easily.

These boxes might have things like canned tuna, canned chicken, milk that doesn't need a fridge, cookies, crackers, and juices. Citymeals provides these holiday boxes for Labor Day, Season’s Greetings, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Passover, Memorial Day, and Independence Day.

Emergency Food Packages

In the late fall, Citymeals sends out special emergency boxes. These boxes have non-perishable food for older clients. This helps them have food ready for the winter months.

Clients are encouraged to keep some of this food at home. This way, if bad winter weather stops regular meal deliveries, they still have something to eat. Extra emergency food packages are also sent out every three months to people who need them most.

Supper Meals

Citymeals on Wheels and Cornell University did a study together. They found that 14% of Citymeals' clients relied only on the program for their food. These people didn't have other ways to get more food after their one daily meal.

So, Citymeals now delivers supper meals to these older people. These are the ones who are the poorest, weakest, and most alone. This helps make sure they have enough to eat throughout the day.

See also

• Hunger in the United States
• Malnutrition in the United States
• City Harvest
• God's Love We Deliver
• Taste of Tennis, a donor