UPDATE: In a Facebook post, Metro Meals on Wheels and Blue Cross of Idaho canceled the social distancing version of the March for Meals event scheduled for March 28.
Blue Cross of Idaho is donating $7,500 to Metro Meals on Wheels, which averages around 1,500 marchers.
ORIGINAL STORY: The March for Meals is still happening this year despite coronavirus concerns. There is a change, however, since over 1,000 marchers cannot meet at Kleiner Park in Meridian.
Metro Meals on Wheels is encouraging marchers to take their own walk on March 28 or 29 and challenge others to do the same. After their march, notify Metro Meals on Wheels and Blue Cross of Idaho will donate $5 for each marcher.
Organizers of the event encourage participants to have some fun and be creative. Tag Metro Meals on Wheels on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with pictures of your walk and include the names of everyone in the photo. You can also use #MarchforMetro2020. Sharing the photo grants permission to Metro to use it for promotional purposes.
“Everyone is invited to take a short walk, enjoy the spring air, and practice social distancing, while supporting our seniors!” said Grant Jones, CEO of Metro Meals on Wheels. “Some time on March 28 or 29 can be fun for walkers – and provide a nutritious meal and independence for a homebound senior.”
One in six seniors in America faces hunger or food insecurity on a regular basis. That translates to more than 37,000 seniors in Idaho who struggle with hunger.
Metro Meals on Wheels delivers and serves nearly 1,200 hot, nutritious meals each weekday (up 200 meals a day over this time last year) and more than 800 frozen meals each weekend, to seniors throughout Ada County, Middleton, and Emmett. “The food is so critical to the seniors, but Meals on Wheels is so much more than a meal to them,” said Jones. “Over 90 percent say they can remain independent at home, in familiar settings, and often with their pets.
