WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL)—After being amended and signed into law by President Nixon back in 1972, the “Older Americans Act” has played a crucial role in meeting the nutritional needs of senior citizens nationwide.

Meals on Wheels has been serving Wichita County for more than five decades, and some clients have been a part of the program for years getting to know the volunteers who deliver to them, but on Community Champion’s Day, CEO of The Kitchen/Meals on Wheels, Jackie Hamm called in some familiar faces to help.

“This is amazing. You know, we send out invitations every year, and I don’t know I think that we probably have way more than half of our 58 routes covered today, so we’re pretty excited about that. I think there are about 35 people here to deliver today,” Hamm said.

Our very own anchors, Darrell, Lauren and Jaron, along with city councilors and downtown development officials, all got a firsthand look at how this program affects these clients.

“This is just a great thing to do. You know, these seniors really need our help with delivering. We talked to a senior earlier who can’t get out on his own. He likes to cook sometimes, but can’t always do it, so it just gives them a way to eat something for the day,” Jaron Spor said.

“Yeah, it’s a great way to give back. We love getting to meet some of the people who watch us every night, and so they’re our heroes,” Lauren Linville said.

“I love when they say that we might be the only person they talk to all day long, and that really makes you feel good,” Darrell Franklin said.

“Sometimes I don’t see anybody for three or four days, and so I appreciate y’all, and I really like Jaron because we talk football,” said Meals on Wheels client Ernest Jennings.

It’s just another way to show that volunteering to deliver a meal is much more than that to someone who has no one.

Hamm said they are always in desperate need of volunteers for delivering meals, seeing that last year alone, they delivered more than 300,000 meals.
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