HOUSTON (December 21, 2020) – Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston continued its annual tradition of delivering Thanksgiving turkey dinners with all the trimmings to nearly 5,000 seniors. The distribution looked different due to COVID-19, with staff delivering the meals prior to the holiday, instead of thousands of volunteers gathering to pick up the meals and then bring them to every corner of the Greater Houston/Galveston area. Volunteers and staff made sure that the seniors also received friendly phone calls.
Interfaith Ministries operates the largest Meals on Wheels program in the state, serving five Southeast Texas counties and close to 5,000 homebound seniors each day. The need for home‐delivered meals has increased due to the COVID‐19 pandemic. Last Thanksgiving, the average number of seniors served was 4,300.
The Thanksgiving meal distribution was made possible thanks to community support, most notably by presenting sponsor, H-E-B, and lead sponsor, Islamic Relief USA and thousands of volunteers who made phone calls. One of our volunteers had this to say, after completing her calls to seniors on Thanksgiving morning:
“Thank you for blessing me! I had the pleasure to speak to Mildred who is 98 years young! Mildred and her husband (who is 100 years young) made my day! I will never forget the happiness I heard in her voice.”
In the month of December, Interfaith Ministries continues to spread seasonal joy by distributing holiday gift bags to all the seniors it serves. The bags are filled with items often requested by the seniors, including warm items like socks and gloves, toiletries, and fun items like crossword puzzle books. These may be the only gifts participating seniors receive.
As the number of seniors experiencing food insecurity and social isolation continues to increase, during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, Interfaith Ministries remains committed to providing meals and more for this vulnerable population.
For more information on Interfaith Ministries’ work, visit our website at www.imgh.org.