Contact: Sunny Mindel/Samantha I. Lugo (212) 788-2958
Joining the Mayor were DFTA Commissioner Herb Stupp and Citymeals Executive Director Marcia Stein.
"For almost 20 years, Citymeals-on-Wheels has exemplified New York City's spirit of generosity and our commitment to public-private partnerships that have a direct, powerful impact in people's lives," Mayor Giuliani said.
"Citymeals-on-Wheels provides an invaluable service to New York City's senior citizens, delivering not only a hot meal on weekends and holidays, but also some things that can't be measured-like friendship, comfort and companionship. And now Citymeals-on-Wheels is increasing its commitment to helping senior New Yorkers, supplementing the daily hot lunch already provided by the Department for the Aging with their new Second Helping program," the Mayor continued.
"Thanks to the efforts of the Department for the Aging, every year more than 4 million meals are delivered to homebound seniors-that's about 14,000 per day-and another 9 million are served in senior centers throughout the city. But despite these efforts, malnutrition among seniors remains a serious problem. An estimated 85% of older Americans have chronic diseases that could be improved by better nutrition. And for some senior New Yorkers, the meals-on-wheels hot lunch they receive from the Department for the Aging is the only food they eat all day.
I'm proud that City of New York is such a vital part of this effort, in conjunction with Citymeals-on-Wheels. Together, Citymeals and the Department for the Aging show how fruitful public/private partnerships can be. And their tireless work helps ensure that our older neighbors, many of whom are alone, can live healthier, happier lives," the Mayor concluded.
Commissioner Stupp said, "Since launching Citymeals with Gael Greene almost 20 years ago, we have kept our commitment to bring meals to the frail elderly through this partnership. Public dollars from the Department help support Citymeals' fund-raising efforts. As Mayor Giuliani increased City funding by 60 percent to Citymeals, he has given them the added leverage to raise contributions for this program. We're pleased to help Citymeals to improve the well being of the elderly."
Citymeals Executive Director Marcia Stein said, "Our seniors are grateful for their daily home-delivered hot lunch. But for some, it's just not enough. This second meal will keep the poorest and frailest among them from slipping further into malnutrition and illness, enabling them to remain in their own homes with dignity."
In 1981, Citymeals-on-Wheels was formed to provide New York's 6,000 homebound elderly with a hot meal and a friendly visit on weekends and holidays, extending DFTA's weekday meal delivery program. This year, Citymeals will provide nearly 2 million meals to 15,000 frail seniors in New York City.