Help Meals On Wheels At Tulsa Area Sam's Clubs

NewsOn6.com

TULSA, Oklahoma -- Tulsa Sam's Clubs will be raising money this weekend for Meals on Wheels. The "Blizzard Bag Blitz" takes place November 3 through 6 to help prepare the organization for winter weather.

Nearly 1,000 homebound Tulsa residents depend on Meals on Wheels to deliver food every day.

"These homebound folks cannot get to the grocery store to stock their pantries like most of us do," said Dan Rabovsky, executive director of Meals on Wheels of Metro Tulsa.

"Many of them depend on the daily meal from us as the primary source of food, and if we can't deliver, they may very well go hungry."

Meals on Wheels sends out about 150 volunteer drivers each weekday to cover the many different delivery routes in the Tulsa area.

Blizzard Bags are extra meals delivered to seniors during November and December with items like heat-and-eat products to have on hand in case of bad weather.

"Many of our volunteers as themselves seniors, and we will not put our drivers in danger during times of extreme snow and ice," said Rabovsky.

7/15/2011 Related Story: Tulsa Meals On Wheels Volunteers Are In Hot Demand

"So when we can't put them on the road due to winter weather conditions, we still want to provide a meal especially for those most at risk of hunger."

From November 3 to 6, Sam's Club members can buy food supplies from an in-store display of various food items used for the project, and then place the donations in bins positioned in the store. Sam's Club will then deliver all the donated food products to Meals on Wheels on November 7.

Sam's Club locations in Tulsa are at 41st and Sheridan, 71st and Mingo, and Tulsa Hills – 71st near U.S. Highway 75.

Meals on Wheels relies solely on donations received from the community for its day-to-day operations and receives no government funding, according to the organization's news release.

For more information about how to package shelf stable meals or other volunteer opportunities, call Jill Thompson, director of development and community relations, at 918-627-4103 or check out their website at www.mealsonwheelstulsa.org.