Meal kits contain 5 easy-to-open, shelf-stable meals that require no cooking or refrigeration, allowing seniors to eat immediately during power outages.
HOUSTON — With the peak of hurricane season approaching, a Houston nonprofit is stepping up to ensure Houston’s most vulnerable seniors won’t go hungry if a storm cuts off access to food.
Interfaith Ministries’ Meals on Wheels program — the largest of its kind in Texas — is packing and delivering emergency meal kits through an initiative called Operation IMpact. The program serves nearly 4,000 seniors across Houston and Galveston counties.
“These emergency shelf-stable meals are crucial for the well-being of our seniors,” said Ali Alsudani, chief program officer for Interfaith Ministries. “At times of inclement weather, when we cannot get to them, they have at least some food in their home they can use.”
Each meal kit contains five easy-to-open, shelf-stable meals that require no cooking or refrigeration, allowing seniors to eat immediately during power outages or severe weather events.
For recipients like 67-year-old Jodene Burris, who is homebound and recovering from surgery, the meals are a lifeline.
“I’m dependent on this, you know because making ends meet is hard to do,” Burris said. “Without the volunteers that help, I would be in a real mess. I’d probably be in a state hospital.”
Burris recalled last year’s Hurricane Beryl, which left her without power for six days. “If it wasn’t for some of the meals, I still had a gas stove to cook, but it was tight and hot, and I thought I wasn’t going to make it.”
Operation IMpact offers more than just food. It’s about connection.
“Oh, is it a blessing,” Burris said. “I love to talk to them, and they love to open up and talk to me.”
Volunteers like Cathy Lewis, who delivers meals to Burris, often become some of the only people seniors see all week.
“I enjoy it, that’s why I do it,” Lewis said.
To learn more about Interfaith Ministries’ Meals on Wheels program or to find out how you can donate or volunteer, visit https://imgh.org/imhouston-meals-on-wheels/.