By Lissa Alexander
A $5,000 donation by RBC to the SOS Meals On Wheels program has come at a welcome time.
“The Meals on Wheels program continues to see an increase in residents who need help accessing nutritious meals,” said SOS executive director, Susanna Newton.
The program delivers hot meals to residents three times a week. When possible, the volunteers who deliver the meals will check in on residents.
“Sometimes the volunteers are the only friendly face they see all day,” said Meals on Wheels co-ordinator, Jolene Swanson. “The residents welcome these brief interactions, and if they are in need of assistance, SOS or other local agencies can be notified.”
READ MORE: $100K donation a huge boost for SOS ‘Project Rebuild’ campaign in Parksville Qualicum Beach area
RBC Qualicum Beach branch manager, Julie Field, and RBC Parksville branch manager, Sheena Peterson, representing the north Vancouver Island region, dropped off a $5,000 COVID response and recovery grant cheque from the RBC Foundation. Helping residents maintain food security is important to members of RBC north Vancouver Island.
“SOS Meals on Wheels is a wonderful program and we’re so pleased that it was able to continue throughout the pandemic,” said Field. From April 2020 to March 2021, Meals On Wheels provided 14,334 meals to an average of 90 clients per month. The pandemic has made it more difficult for some residents to maintain a healthy diet.
“It has been a challenging year and we hope this helps,” said Peterson.
To learn more about the SOS Meals on Wheels program, visit www.sosd69.com or call 250-248-2093.
- NEWS Staff, submitted