Meals on Wheels Celebrates More than 40 Years of Service

Meals on Wheels of Greenville celebrated its 43rd anniversary this week.

The organization began serving its first meals from a small kitchen in Westminster Presbyterian Church on Oct. 18, 1968. In its first year, meals were provided to 193 clients by a volunteer base of 235 individuals.
 
Greenville’s program was the first in South Carolina, and “began with neighbor helping neighbor,” said Liz Seman, executive director of Meals on Wheels,  “a value that continues to drive the mission today.”
 
“On Oct. 18, Meals on Wheels will have served 9,768,713 meals to homebound neighbors throughout Greenville County, none of which would be possible without the support and generosity of our volunteers and community partners,” Seman said.
 
Forty-three years later, Meals on Wheels of Greenville serves 1,500 meals daily, and relies on 2,000 volunteers annually to deliver its programmatic mission. All meal recipients are referred by a physician or social service agency, and meals are provided free of charge to those who qualify.