Delaware Lawmakers Help CHEER’s March on Meals

(MILTON, Del) – A program we’ve all heard of; Meals on Wheels, and in Milton this week, volunteers had a few extra hands help them from Dover.

This is all part of CHEER Delaware’s annual “March for Meals” campaign that’s not just about delivering food to local seniors.

State lawmakers joined CHEER volunteers to help make deliveries. And lawmakers got a better grip on the food security situation in the First State.

“And I think it’s important that, neighbors look out for neighbors, and we stand up for our community. This is just being an active member and active part of that community. So it’s wonderful what the volunteers here at CHEER do,” says Delaware State Senator, Russell Huxtable.

And as we found out from some of the volunteers, loading up their own cars to take these meals out to seniors, it’s about more than the food.

It provides necessary contact for people who might otherwise be cut off from social interaction.

CHEER Volunteer, Rick Rinderle tells WMDT, “We may be the only human contact that they have for the day, the week or even longer. And just to ensure that they are in good spirits, good conditions…”

“There’s also other services that, if, you know, we can give them the number of a chair and they can set them up with other services, it’s really, important that they get that human contact. And somebody and I might be the only person they say hello to all day…” says fellow volunteer, Karen Fernandez.

To have lawmakers tag along to help deliver these bags of food and provide those checks to seniors paints a clear picture back in Dover.

Delaware State Housing Authority Director, Matthew Heckles tells us, “The state is a caring institution, and we want to make sure that, that we’re available and not only, that we’re doing what we think is right, but making sure that we are doing what they think is right and what they need from us.”

If you want to lend a hand to CHEER, you can reach them at (302)-515-0001