Council discusses meal provision for seniors

Published 9:00 am Sunday, January 26, 2025

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Windsor Town Councilman Edward “Gibbie” Dowdy started a discussion Jan. 14 among town leaders about town-facilitated meal provision for the elderly. The discussion began when he passed along a question from a constituent regarding Meals on Wheel.

As noted at www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org, “Meals on Wheels is a nationwide network of community-based, nonprofit programs dedicated to providing seniors in their communities with the support that enables them to remain living in their own homes, where they want to be. This support is typically a nutritious meal, a friendly visit and a quick safety check.”

During the Council Comments portion of the Jan. 14 Windsor Town Council meeting, Dowdy said, “I did have a citizen ask about adding Meals on Wheels to our budget. I don’t know if we have anything in there for that at this time…”

Windsor Mayor George Stubbs said, “We have people in Windsor that service Meals on Wheels.”

Dowdy said, “Don’t we have people that get it? I’m not sure.”

Windsor Town Manager William Saunders said the town actually allows Meals on Wheels to store its coolers at Town Hall.

“They come by every day to pick up the coolers and use them,” Saunders said. “So we assist them in that manner, but we’re not (currently) making them a monetary donation.”

Dowdy said, “Well, a constituent asked that we look into possibly donating. That’d be totally up to council. I just brought it before council.”

Continuing to think of how the town presently helps the elderly, Stubbs said, “We also allow Senior Services of Southeastern Virginia to utilize the Windsor Town Center at no charge four days a week.”

Councilman David Adams noted that Senior Services serves meals as part of its work at the Town Center.

Stubbs affirmed that, stating, “They serve meals and have programs and different things, yes.”

Councilman Marlin W. Sharp added that Senior Services also provides transportation.