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Thursday, January 28, 2021
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• Belmont • Cramerton • Lowell • McAdenville • Mount Holly • Stanley
Thursday, January 28, 2021
Gaston County Meals on Wheels keeps seniors rolling right along By Alan Hodge alan@cfmedia.info
Luncheon is served (with a smile). That’s the credo of the Gaston County Meals on Wheels program that delivers a hot and hearty lunch every weekday to its senior citizen clients who are unable to get out and about and who might otherwise go hungry. The Gaston Meals on Wheels program is a branch of Meals on Wheels America. That umbrella group has more than 5,000 community-based programs across the country that are dedicated to ad-
dressing senior isolation and hunger. This network serves virtually every community in America and, along with more than two million staff and volunteers, delivers the nutritious meals, friendly visits and safety checks that enable America’s seniors to live nourished lives with independence and dignity. Gaston Meals on Wheels is one of the programs under the Adult & Aging Services Division which is under the Gaston County Department of Health & Human Services. Gaston Meals on Wheels has seven locations in Gaston County,
there is representation in each township. It has over 850 volunteers, with approximately 500 that are active. Gaston Meals on Wheels serves approximately 300 meals daily (both hot and frozen meal delivery). The South Point meal site operates out of Queen of Apostles Catholic Church in Belmont and runs four routes- two routes in Belmont, one in Cramerton and one in Lowell. It has about 95 volunteers. Jasha Hunter is the site monitor in Belmont and explained a bit more about who Meals on Wheels See MEALS ON WHEELS, Page 5
Meals on Wheels volunteer Cadi Putnam delivers lunch to client Elvira “Duckie” Huffstetler as Belmont officers C.B. Farmer (right) and J.G. Reagan look on. The Belmont PD helps with Meals on Wheels deliveries on Tuesdays. Photo by Alan Hodge
YMCA honors local catering company for their work feeding the community
Belmont Unity Day event... Princeton Ballen, son of Dominique Isles holds the Unity Candle during this year’s Annual Belmont Unity Day event which was held virtually. See more on the 30th Annual Belmont Unity Day on page 4.
Each year, the Gaston County Family YMCA honors an individual dedicated to serving the community. In 2020 this award is being given to Hans and Megan Kanal from H&M Catering, located in Mt. Holly, for their tireless work combating hunger during the COVID shutdown. One in five children in North Carolina struggle with food insecurity which can be an anxiety-provoking for kids who struggle with hunger and don’t have access to free and reduced lunch at school. In addition to children, the COVID impacted seniors, many of which were on waiting lists to receive home deliveries. H&M Catering worked alongside YMCA staff and volunteers to safely make and deliver nearly 4,000 See YMCA, Page 4
Sharon Padgett, Megan Kanal, Hans Kanal, and Mary Moffitt at the award presentation. Photo provided
EVERY THURSDAY