Hunger and food insecurity are huge issues across the U.S., where millions of children, families and seniors struggle with access to healthy meals. At Anova, we know that food has the power to transform lives. Since June 2019, we have helped provide over 70,000 nutritious meals to underserved communities through our charity and community partnerships, including Meals on Wheels.
Anova has been working alongside organizations like Meals on Wheels America throughout 2020 to help support the 2.4 million vulnerable seniors across the US who are at the greatest risk amid COVID-19. In March and April, together with the Electrolux Food Foundation, Anova raised $18,000 for the Meals on Wheels COVID-19 Response Fund, helping seniors receive the food and care they need to survive.
However, this holiday season, millions of grandfathers and grandmothers will be setting the table for one. For many of seniors, like Eulalia and Dawn, living in isolation has been especially devastating. We share their stories below and hope that they inspire you to take action and help improve the lives of millions of seniors across America. Donate today to fill their holidays with love and care.Eulalia's Story
Eulalia spent her life taking care of everyone else around her. When she was younger, she stopped going to school so she could take care of her siblings. Then, she raised ten of her own children. With all that support for others, a full house came to represent a full heart.
Now, unable to see her loved ones due to COVID-19 safety precautions, the loneliness set in quickly. And, for the past seven months, she’s been in a wheelchair, which makes it very difficult to walk on her own or cook her own meals.
At 97 years old, Eulalia began to find it difficult to carry on all by herself. Fortunately, help arrived through her local Meals on Wheels program. Despite COVID-19 restrictions, volunteers can still drop off the food at her front door and then call her on the phone to check in and say hello.
“They talk to me…they really like me!” Eulalia says with a smile. Handmade cards that Meals on Wheels volunteers have given her hang on the side of her refrigerator as an ongoing reminder that she is not alone.
Just one card or call from a volunteer is enough to brighten Eulalia’s entire day. You can help struggling seniors like Eulalia with a gift today.
Dawn's Story
Ever since her husband died, Dawn has been living all alone. She is blind and struggles to make ends meet on a fixed income. Now, with the pandemic in full force, she is even more isolated from friends and the places she knows. Her loneliness has reached a painful level.
Her loving cats serve as her only companions on most days. They love her unconditionally and have always provided comfort through the most difficult times in her life. “They know when I am depressed. They knew I was sad when my husband died,” Dawn says.
When her husband was alive, they were already struggling to get by. But with his passing, the pension that helped them get by was taken away. Now, Dawn is one of millions of seniors living below the poverty line. She does her best to scrape by on an income of $600 per month to cover rent, utilities and food for herself. But, it’s nowhere near enough to pay for the food and supplies that she needs to live.
Thankfully, a blessing came along to make Dawn’s life better: Meals on Wheels. Without her local program, Dawn and her cats wouldn’t know when they might eat next. “ Sometimes that is the only meal I eat during the day.” Through your generosity, local programs are able to provide the food (people and pet) and supplies that enable seniors like Dawn to shelter in place with their furry companions.
Donate Today
Donate this holiday to help seniors like Dawn and Eulalia. Your support will help ensure that millions of America’s seniors, living in isolation and feeling lonely this holiday season, receive the food and care they need to survive.