Three Desert Mayors Pound the Pavement to Deliver Meals
Palm Desert Mayor Cindy Finerty leaves behind some food at the door and a note: “Sorry, I missed you….Cindy.”
It is her first time volunteering on behalf of the Meals On Wheels program. “When you feel blessed, you want to give back,” Finerty says.
But, she was not the lone volunteer. Indian Wells Mayor Ed Monarch and Rancho Mirage Mayor Gordon Moller joined as well.
They picked up the bags at the Joslyn Senior Center, which delivers 60 meals Monday through Friday. Drivers do it for free from the goodness of their hearts.
“We do not reimburse them with money,” says Bob Elias, the senior center’s director of social services.
The three mayors volunteered Wednesday morning as part of a national effort to bring awareness to senior hunger. According to a 2007 study, about 3 percent of Coachella Valley residents who are 55 and older do not get enough to eat on a daily basis.
Elizabeth Salute, 92, is one of the Meals On Wheels clients. Her daughter Carole Salute, visiting from Minneapolis, is grateful for the program. “They’re always good, and they’re always hot. And it saves me from cooking and it saves her from cooking” says Carole.
The national program aims to end senior hunger by the year 2020
