Community Relations Project Meal delivery program for the elderly “Healthy Meals” essay
This community relations project has been specially developed to meet the needs of the elderly people who are the members of the community A. This project is seeking to close the gap in social services provided by social service agency. According to the research, “in the United States the Elderly Nutrition Program mandated through the Older Americans Act provides in-home and community based nutrition services”, but in the community A, many elderly people are not involved in this program because of the lack of financial support from Federal Funds (Schulz 858).
It is known that the elderly people who live alone often lack the desire or the opportunity to cook well-balanced meals for themselves (Schmidt 38). In most cases, the elderly people have no financial support to cook well-balanced meals, or lack the transport to go shopping. Many elderly people live far from the supermarket and need transportation. The statistical data show that there are more than 50 elderly people in the community, most of whom need social support. It has been found that some of them are physically unable to go shopping and cook themselves, but they do not require are still able to take care of most of their needs at home. In such situations, programs such as this offer options as well as balanced, nutritional meals for seniors.
Meal delivery program for the elderly “Healthy Meals” is targeted at the elderly people aged over 60 years old, who have no relatives, or live alone, or whose families are poor and lack social support, or who are homeless (immigrants, veterans, etc.). Actually, the project offers well-balanced and nutritious meals for the elderly population, catering to special needs associated with health issues, such as low fat diet, low sugar diet, or low sodium diet. The meals offered by the community relations project meet the established daily allowance for adult people with various health problems. The project consists of two parts:
Nutritious and well-balanced meals delivery to the elderly people aged over 60 years old;
Nutrition education provided to the home bound elderly people.
Some of the specific characteristics that make the project oriented toward community relations include flexibility, reliability, convenience and affordability. In fact, the major benefits of the project involve the supply of healthy meals (Meal Delivery for Seniors). The meal delivery program represented by the project helps in the reduction of weight loss, malnutrition problems, the feelings of muscle weakness and fatigue. The home-delivered healthy meals help the elderly people, who do not know how to create effective nutritious meal plans and diets, to maintain their health and wellness (Senior Meal Delivery). For example, the menu for the elderly people consists of several items. Thus, dinner may include three items:
Hot Turkey with gravy, or veal cutlets, stuffing,
peas or Italian vegetables,
a wheat roll and cherries or apple jam.
Some of the most effective strategies to promote the project (using public relations) within the community include training of volunteers and staff members, making video about the project for the local TV translation, working with the elderly people in the streets and public places and answering their questions, writing letters to attract public attention, writing brochures about healthy meals for the elderly people, and preparing annual reports as a communications tool (Winston & Kinzey 13). The project is focused on soliciting donations.
