Mayor John Sullivan

FORT MYERS, Fla. (March 14, 2013) – Community Cooperative Ministries, Inc.’s will be holding Mayors For Meals Day on Tuesday, March 19, as a part of its March For Meals campaign. Cape Coral Mayor John Sullivan will be participating in the event to show his support for our community’s homebound and hungry seniors.

CCMI’s Mayors For Meals Day event will begin with meals being packed at 7:30 a.m. at the Cape Coral Everyday Café located at 1105 Cultural Park Boulevard, followed by Mayor Sullivan joining other Meals On Wheels drivers on route to deliver those meals.

“We are excited about having Mayor Sullivan participate in our Mayors For Meals Day event,” said Tracey Galloway, CEO of CCMI. “There’s a strong possibility that the Meals On Wheels program could face massive federal cuts because of the sequester, potentially impacting hundreds of people in our area.”

In Washington’s sequestration battle, federally assisted senior meals programs like Meals on Wheels would serve four million fewer meals to seniors.

Mayors For Meals Day is a component of March For Meals that utilizes the involvement of local Mayors and other local elected officials. March For Meals is a national campaign during the month of March, initiated by the Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA), which seeks to raise awareness of senior hunger and to encourage action on the part of the local community.

In March 2012, more than 1,500 mayors and other elected officials delivered meals on Mayors For Meals Day across the country.

“I am pleased to take part in this very important cause,” said Cape Coral Mayor John Sullivan. “Providing this food really helps our seniors, and I hope that this program continues for many years to come.”

Senior Nutrition Programs across the United States, like CCMI, promote March For Meals in their local communities through public events, partnerships with local businesses, volunteer recruitment and fundraising initiatives. Mayors For Meals Day is a component of March For Meals that utilizes the involvement of local Mayors and other local elected officials.

“For many of our senior clients, the delivery they receive from their Meals On Wheels Driver may be the only social interaction they have during the day,” said Galloway.

CCMI is an innovative nonprofit 501(c)3 organization made up of social service entrepreneurs fighting to end homelessness and hunger in our community. The agency provides more than 15,000 meals each month through its Everyday Café and Marketplace and Home Delivered Meals programs. CCMI also educates 40 children in its Community Montessori Preschool, offers homeless services and comprehensive case coaching services through its United Way Resource Houses, oversees an emergency mobile food pantry and supplies weekend backpacks full of food to more than 2,500 children each school year.

CCMI serves Fort Myers and the greater Lee County area, including Bonita Springs, Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres. CCMI works in partnership with United Way of Lee, Hendry and Glades, Harry Chapin Food Bank and regional community foundations as well as collaborating with fellow community and service groups including The School District of Lee County and numerous churches, businesses and community support organizations.

For more information, call 239-332-7687 or visit www.ccmileecounty.com

About Meals On Wheels Association of America

The Meals On Wheels Association of America is the only national association and network dedicated solely to ending senior hunger in America. It is the oldest and largest organization composed of and representing local, community-based Senior Nutrition Programs in all 50 states and U.S. territories.  The vision of Meals On Wheels is to end senior hunger by 2020.  To obtain more information about the association or to locate a local Meals On Wheels program, visit www.mowaa.org.