“Hungry to Help” is feeding homebound elderly

DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) - According to the South Alabama Regional Council on Aging, thousands of seniors in southeast Alabama need meal assistance.

Homebound elderly are too frail to shop for food and unable to prepare their meals. This is why they are working to help feed these seniors through the “Hungry to Help” program.

If you are ‘hungry to help” the elderly during Hunger Action Month, the program provides a hot meal five days a week to area seniors like Atlanta Palmer. Ms. Palmer is 64-years-old.

“I don’t have a lot of family,” Palmer explained. “So, there’s not a lot of people to divide themselves to help me.”

She lives in a rural area outside of Enterprise. She is unable to drive a car so she must depend on help from others.

“I got a woman who will help me, my neighbor... to help me,” Palmer said. Sometimes she has to take a day or half a day off of work, and that’s a lot to ask.”

Ms. Palmer was recovering from pneumonia over the summer.

“Two months ago, I weighed 87 pounds, and I went home that way,” Palmer said.

But now, thanks to “Hungry to Help,” she is doing better.

“I am extremely happy,” Palmer said. “It’s made a difference in my nutrition. It absolutely has.”

Through “Hungry to Help,” she receives a month’s worth of meals that are at no cost to her. Though Ms. Palmer needs these meals to stay in good health, she is one of the lucky ones.

“I have to assume that there are people that don’t even have the help I get,” Palmer said. “If you don’t help one another now. If you don’t reach out to the old, to your grandparents, your parents, or a neighbor,” Palmer added. “Can we have a world that is expected to help in the future?”

If you are interested in people like Ms. Palmer, there are three options to choose from. You can pay for one month of meals for an individual or a year’s worth.

• One month of meals is $80.
• Three months of meals are $229.
• One year of meals is $905.

Click here to donate.

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