Meals on Wheels of the Salinas Valley

Let’s look out for one another.

Insightful story.

Congratulations, Beverly Kovacs, for being honored as our Volunteer of the Quarter, delivering meals in South County for King City and Lockwood. She started volunteering with Meals on Wheels of the Salinas Valley (MOWSV) in March of 2017, about three years ago. Her friend and MOWSV volunteer, Marsha Green, asked Bev to fill in for her on a route and that’s how Bev started delivering meals. Bev’s favorite part about volunteering is doing things to help people. She was a socia...l worker, now retired, so she really enjoys being able to deliver nutritious meals and meet different people that are on her route. She points out that for those people who may be interested in becoming a volunteer, that it is something that makes you feel good, knowing that you can help other people. It’s rewarding to check-in on homebound seniors in the community to see how they are doing. It feels good to be able to help and Bev encourages others to get involved with Meals on Wheels. After a long career as a social worker, Bev has been enjoying retirement for 10 years. She enjoyed her job so very much that it was difficult for her to retire. But, after working for the Monterey County Department of Social Services for 38 years, she decided that it was time to stop working and retire. Not only is Bev an outstanding volunteer for Meals on Wheels but she is involved in several other organizations in her Lockwood community. She is the treasurer for the Nacitone Foundation, an organization trying to develop the museum in Lockwood. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Lockwood Community Center, a lovely community center that was converted from an old school in 1991, for the past 15 or 20 years. Her goal is to keep community activities alive through these challenging times. Bev was born and raised in Lockwood, lived briefly in Salinas and briefly in King City when she worked for the Department of Social Services but then moved back to Lockwood and has lived there full-time since 1975. Beyond her volunteer activities, Bev has three daughters and they have blessed her with four grandchildren. Spending time and being involved with her grandchildren and their distance learning keeps her very busy. We thank you Bev, for all the time and energy that you give to Meals on Wheels of the Salinas Valley and the homebound clients in South County that you serve!

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Due to the steady stream of homebound seniors who are needing meals delivered to them due to COVID-19, Meals on Wheels of the Salinas Valley is in dire need of additional volunteers for meal packing at our warehouse and meal delivery drivers for Salinas, Soledad, Greenfield and King City routes. Our warehouse is located at 40 Clark Street, Suite C in Salinas. For meal deliveries in Salinas, deliveries begin at 9:30am on Tuesday and Thursdays with pick up at the warehouse. Our... South County deliveries in Soledad, Greenfield and King City are made on Wednesdays and we will meet the volunteer in each city to distribute the meals from our refrigerated truck. The clients receive their meals between 10am in Soledad and after 12noon in King City. If you have additional questions about how you can help, please contact our office 831-758-6325 and speak with Claudia or Laurie. If you are interested in any of these positions, please visit https://mowsalinas.org/volunteer-application to complete an application online. If you can help, please contact us right away! See more

We have a diverse board of directors representing the interests of Meals on Wheels of the Salinas Valley and its clients. Thank you 2020-21 board members for your enthusiasm and dedication to our mission: Cary Swensen, Manuel Ipong, Jesus Yanez, Sharilyn Payne, John Gianelli, Miles Moore, William Khieu, Merv Selvidge and Dani Zapata.

Often times the #MealsOnWheels volunteer is the only person a homebound client sees in a day, or sometimes a week. Volunteers offer a daily dose of human connection that helps keep seniors happy and healthy. http://bit.ly/MOWImpact

We need your help to continue funding for senior nutrition programs. Please support the call from Meals on Wheels America! Follow the link to submit a letter on your behalf. SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 CRITICAL CONVERSATIONS ON CAPITOL HILL... TAKE ACTION TO SECURE FUNDING FOR SENIOR NUTRITION PROGRAMS A new federal fiscal year begins on October 1, just two weeks from today, and Congress has yet to pass any of the 12 annual appropriations bills needed to fund the government beyond the end of the month. At this time, Congress is looking to pass a short-term spending bill a continuing resolution (CR) to avoid a government shutdown and maintain funding for federal agencies and programs. This CR will allow Congress more time to negotiate its final spending bills and have them signed into law by the President, though the length of time the CR will extend current funding levels is still under negotiation. It appears that no additional funding for COVID-19 relief will be included in a CR, and instead, negotiations on the next standalone relief package will continue separately. However, Democrats, Republicans and the Administration have not yet been able to reach agreement about any such package, and the path forward for additional emergency funding is not certain. Learn more about where the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 appropriations and COVID-19 relief process stands in this CQ podcast here. HOW TO TAKE ACTION TODAY! We know how critical it is for the federal government to remain open, for Congress to provide increased funding for senior nutrition programs in FY 2021 and for the next coronavirus relief package to include additional emergency funding and aid as your programs continue to see unprecedented need in your communities. With so much at stake, timing is everything. Please join us in emailing Congress to act now and pass legislation to keep the government running and provide desperately needed COVID-19 relief to senior nutrition programs. Simply click the pre-populated email form in the link below: DON'T STOP EMAILING YOUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS http://www.mmsend60.com/link.cfm MEALS ON WHEELS AMERICA 1550 Crystal Drive, Suite 1004 Arlington, VA 22202 (P) 888.998.6325 | (F) 703.548.5274 mealsonwheelsamerica.org Copyright 2020 Meals on Wheels America. All rights reserve

MOWSV Executive Director, Regina, Gage, accepted a generous donation from community member, Timothy Miguel, to support our meal delivery program. Thank you Mr. Miguel for your support!

We are distributing shelf-stable meals (in boxes with pink labels on them) in addition to our regular meal delivery to homebound seniors. These shelf-stable meals are to be used in case of emergency or natural disaster if Meals on Wheels cannot deliver meals as usual. We want our homebound seniors to have enough food on hand in case of any emergency! Volunteers, Rotary members and MOWSV board members have been instrumental in getting these meals out to our clients in a timely manner. Thank you volunteers!

Happy National Grandparents Day from all of us at Meals on Wheels of the Salinas Valley!

Sending gratitude to Wells Fargo Foundation for awarding Meals on Wheels of the Salinas Valley with a community grant! Thank you for your involvement in the community and supporting homebound seniors who need our services. #WellsFargo