"Generations of Indian Valley operates a Meals on Wheels program that has been in existence for over 50 years and that serves home-delivered meals to residents"
A recent article in The Reporter indicated that Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is promoting a food company that delivers meals directly to the homes of Medicaid and Medicare clients. However, your article goes on to reveal that the Associated Press reviewed the ingredients and nutrition labels for “Mom’s Meals” and found them to be ultraprocessed and “contain chemical additives that would render them impossible to recreate at home in your kitchen.”
Marion Nestle, a nutritionist at NYU and food policy expert, is quoted as saying, “It is perfectly possible to make meals like this with real foods and no ultra-processing additives but every one of the meals I looked at is loaded with such additives… What’s so sad is that they don’t have to be this way.”
Ms. Nestle is correct. Home delivered meals do NOT have to be this way.
Generations of Indian Valley operates a Meals on Wheels program that has been in existence for over 50 years and that serves home-delivered meals to residents of the 15 municipalities that make up the Souderton Area School District and the North Penn School District. Our meals are prepared, fresh, in our own kitchen every day following a menu that has been approved by Registered Dietitians at the local, county, and state level. Fresh produce and fresh fruit are included everyday in the two meals that are served to each client. No preservatives or chemical stabilizers are used in these meals. Meals are prepared in a kitchen that is inspected twice each year by the Montgomery County Department of Health and regularly inspected by the Montgomery County Office of Aging Services. All meals are provided to our approved clients, free of charge.
In addition to our three staff members who create the menus and prepare the meals (two of whom have culinary degrees) the program is supported by over 300 volunteers who donated 3,309 volunteer hours in the past year to prepare and deliver over 85,000 meals in our community.
In a recent satisfaction survey completed by our clients, 95% were pleased with the quality and variety of the food. Importantly, 95% of respondents said that they can remain in their home because of Meals on Wheels. 100% said that delivery volunteers are polite and friendly, and 100% said that they would recommend Meals on Wheels to a friend.
One of the most important differences between Mom’s Meals and the Generations Meals on Wheels program is that Mom’s Meals are shipped in a box that is delivered outside a person’s home. Generations meals are delivered each day by friendly, caring volunteers who provide two meals, ready to eat, and who check on our clients every day to ensure that they are okay. Shipped meals don’t notify family members if their loved one is ill, but our volunteers report changes in clients’ conditions to our staff immediately, and our staff ensure that families are notified and that care is on the way.
Yes, Ms. Nestle, you are correct. It is perfectly possible to make meals with real food… to deliver them ready to eat… and to provide them through caring volunteers who verify that every client is doing well, every day.
Montgomery County residents over 60 who feel that their quality of life could be improved by Meals on Wheels should contact the Office of Aging Services at 610-278-3601 for further information.
Douglas Eschbach
Executive Director, Generations of Indian Valley
(Disclaimer: This letter is a printed submission expressing the views and thoughts of Douglas Eschbach. A Letter to the Editor is not the viewpoint nor stance of Access Network nor its affiliate websites. The letter is an opinion-based submission which contains statements intended only to share the thoughts of its author and is not a fact-checked news article.)
