Mobile Meals of Hamilton Township delivers 420 hot meals every week to the elderly, less-fortunate and homebound in the township. The nonprofit has pursued this mission for the last 45 years, surviving only due to donations and fundraising.
The bulk of its budget each year comes from an annual sustaining campaign, which is currently taking place. The campaign has increased importance this year, director Eileen Eversheim said, because of challenges the organization has faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Eversheim has been running the program since 2003. She said she loves running the program and believes that it’s because she has such a deep love for volunteer work, which she has been doing all of her life.
Before the pandemic, 40 volunteers worked with Eversheim to provide Hamiltonians with hot meals, five days a week. However, due to the pandemic, Mobiles Meals of Hamilton has seen an increased demand for its services and a decrease in volunteers. Just 16 volunteers—less than half of its usual base—have continued to deliver during the pandemic.
Eversheim said she wouldn’t let the tough times stop the program, though.
“We’ve never missed a day,” she said. “People are petrified to come out of their houses, so we’re coming.”
Eversheim said she does this because her clients have become like part of her family. In fact, she still has a few clients with the program that were there when she first started 17 years ago.
She said this is only possible because of the support she has received over the years from the residents of Hamilton Township.
“Hamilton is a very close knit and caring community, and our program mirrors that,” Eversheim said.
Public officials in town have taken notice.
“Mobile Meals of Hamilton has been a life-saving non-profit for a long time in our community but even more so in 2020,” Hamilton Mayor Jeff Martin said. “Their commitment to ensure high quality, nutritious meals to those who cannot afford them or cannot leave their homes is of the highest importance. Unfortunately, the services of Mobile Meals and other similar organizations has only grown along with those who are food insecure, and I cannot thank them enough for their continued service to Hamilton.”
For more information or to donate, go online to mobilemealshamilton.org or call (609) 448-4088.
