As part of its 60th anniversary celebrations of the Meals on Wheels program in Peterborough, Community Care Peterborough has announced it exceeded the goal of its campaign to raise enough donations for 600 meals in December.
Thanks to community support and additional contributions to the charitable organization, a total of 634 meals were donated for seniors and adults living with physical challenges throughout Peterborough and surrounding areas.
“Our community’s generosity never ceases to amaze us,” says Chris LeBlanc, Community Care Peterborough’s director of donors and public relations, in a media release. “These meals ensure that our clients feel cared for and supported during the holiday season, a time that can be challenging for so many.”
Meals on Wheels originated in the United Kingdom during the German bombing campaign in the Second World War known as the Blitz, when many people lost their homes and the ability to cook their own food. A group of volunteer women prepared and delivered food for these people using prams, carts, bikes with baskets, cars, and other wheeled vehicles.
The concept, which evolved into the modern-day program of delivering prepared meals to seniors, spread to other countries including Canada when the first Meals on Wheels program was created in Brampton in 1963.
In Peterborough, the first Meals on Wheels program began on October 22, 1964 when the former Civic Hospital (now Peterborough Regional Health Centre) prepared seven meals a day that were delivered by volunteers from the Rotary Club of Peterborough.
Today, Meals on Wheels provides more than 50,000 meals annually to seniors and adults with physical challenges across the city and county of Peterborough.
“Community Care Peterborough extends heartfelt gratitude to everyone who participated, donated, or spread the word about the campaign,” reads the release. Together, we’ve made a meaningful difference in the lives of our clients.”
For more information on Meals on Wheels or Community Care Peterborough’s other programs, visit www.commcareptbo.org.
