For 50 years, Peace Meal has provided nutritious meals that come with a side of something extra.
“We offer a full wellness experience,” Peace Meal Director Barbra Wylie said. “We provide meals, plus we also provide nutrition education, outreach and needs assessment, as well as fellowship and volunteer opportunities.”
All individuals age 60 or older, as well as their spouses regardless of age, are welcome to enjoy meals provided at one of thirteen congregate dining sites throughout the seven-county region. Home-delivered meals may be available to people who have difficulty getting to nutrition sites.
“Anyone may refer someone over the age of 60 to Peace Meal,” Wylie said. “It might be a doctor or case manager, but community members are welcome to connect those who need nutrition services with us, as well.”
For many clients and their loved ones, the most important part of the program is the daily safety check provided with the delivery of meals or visit to a Peace Meal site. “Often, our team members are the only people those clients see each day. They may not have family who live close, so we give them outside interaction,” Wylie said.
If a client does not answer the door or arrive at a site, a member of the Peace Meal team calls them. If there is no answer, then they call the emergency contact and, if needed, local first responders to perform a wellness check.
Peace Meal operates three kitchens in the region; they are in Mattoon, Toledo and Oakland. Team members prepare and serve about 900 noon meals daily from Monday through Friday to residents in seven counties.
Peace Meal also partners with three community restaurants. Hometown Café in Herrick, Main Street Café in Paris and Countryside Blessings in Bethany to offer specially selected, nutritionally balanced meals Monday through Friday.
The suggested donation is $4 per meal for both congregate and home delivered meals, but no one is turned away based on the inability to give the full donation.
Peace Meal is partially funded by the Older Americans Act through a grant from the East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging, but that covers less than half of the program costs. Donations from community members and organizations are necessary to fund the operation of the program, and can be made to the SBL Health Foundation.
One donor is WomenConnected, a women’s giving circle within the Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Foundation. “WomenConnected is so supportive of Peace Meal, and I am grateful for the generosity of the members,” Wylie said.
Sarah Bush Lincoln has sponsored Peace Meal for more than a decade, enhancing the nutrition and wellness of older adults in the region.
“My passion is to help everyone have access to high quality, nutritious meals, and because of the generosity of SBL, we are able to do that without a waiting list,” Wylie said. “Our food is the most immediate benefit people receive from us, but the overall nutritional benefits make this such a great service.”