Dine Out For Meals On Wheels

Dine Out For Meals On Wheels takes place today, Tuesday, Oct. 4, and local restaurants will be donating a portion of the day’s proceeds to Santa Clara County Meals on Wheels, a service of the Senior Nutrition Program that has been delivering meals to homebound seniors for more than 30 years.

Here in Los Altos, at 100 State St., is participating in the event. Dinner service begins at 5 p.m. and ends at 9:30 p.m.

Co-owner Gabriel Gutizrrez siad this is the second time the restuarant is participating in the annual event, as a way to help the community.

To qualify for Meals on Wheels, seniors must be 60 years of age or older and be unable to shop or cook for themselves or live with someone who can do this for them. There is no income restriction.

“Almost 60 percent [of the seniors served] are over the age of 80 and 89 percent have a high nutrition risk status,” said Mary Cummins, senior nutrition program manager. “The Meals on Wheels program delivers meals right to their doors and helps them remain in their own homes where they are most comfortable and avoid or delay institutionalization.”

Last year’s Dine Out was quite successful.

“During the Dine Out for Meals on Wheels event last year, we had about 165 participating restaurants in the seven Bay Area counties … and approximately $50,000 was raised,” Cummins said. “In Santa Clara County specifically, 33 restaurants participated and we raised approximately $6,000.”