MUSKEGON, Mich. – Area adults age 60 and older were invited to a FREE holiday meal on Thursday, December 19th, thanks to a grant from the DTE Energy Foundation. The $23,000 grant was awarded to Senior Resources to support AgeWell Services’ Meals on Wheels and Lunch & Activity Centers programs. The grant helped provide Holiday Meals for seniors in Oceana, Muskegon and Ottawa counties. This was the ninth year that the DTE Energy Foundation granted the funds for the holiday meal.
“Thanks to DTE Energy Foundation’s increased financial and volunteer contributions, we were able to serve 21% more aging adults this year” said Kris Collee, Executive Director for AgeWell Services of West Michigan. “We broke a new record for the total meals served in one day through our central operations. We delivered and served 3,400 meals from Jenison to Pentwater homes and Senior Centers throughout West Michigan.”
Nutritious holiday meals were served to Meals on Wheels clients and to seniors at AgeWell Services’ 13 different Lunch & Activity Centers throughout Oceana, Muskegon and Ottawa counties on Thursday, December 19th. A special thank you to Community Access Line of the Lakeshore 2-1-1 for making it possible to take reservations at these many locations.
The 2019 Holiday Meal Menu was: Cranberry Brie Stuffed Chicken Breast, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Escalloped Apples, Prince Charles Vegetables, Caesar Salad, Dinner Roll and Butter with Caramel Drizzled Cheesecake.
DTE Energy employees and some of their family members spent the day volunteering to help prepare and serve the meals. The DTE Energy Foundation is the philanthropic arm of DTE Energy. Through partnerships with human service organizations, the DTE Energy Foundation is focused on making sure that the needs of their neighbors and their communities are met. They promote programs that remove barriers and support innovative approaches to meeting basic human needs, including food, shelter, and health and wellness. Their support increases the choice and supply of safe shelter options and leverages existing programs that offer nutritious food to individuals in need across our state.
Since 1973, AgeWell Services has provided meal programs to address malnutrition and isolation for older adults. The Harbor Steel Meals on Wheels Kitchen at Tanglewood Park prepares and delivers more than 1,600 meals each weekday to seniors in Oceana, Muskegon, and Ottawa counties. For more: www.agewellservices.org