Meals on Wheels OC hosted a Halloween Lunch for seniors in Newport Beach at the OASIS Senior Center on October 31 to encourage socialization and community time.
Nearly 50 guests dressed in costume and enjoyed dancing to music by The Hanley Page Band, participated in a prize raffle and enjoyed a festive fall meal with a menu that offered pumpkin soup, butternut squash and feta pasta, salad and pistachio pudding.
This was the first Halloween costume party and holiday lunch café for seniors, thanks to a new partnership with Meals on Wheels bringing enhanced services to older adults in Newport Beach who make up 38.7 percent of the local population.
The event is just one way that Meals on Wheels Orange County creates opportunities for older adults in the community to socialize in a fun atmosphere, while also enjoying a tasty and nutritious meal.
Social connections are vital to the health of older adults in preventing loneliness, which is the biggest risk factor for disease in older adults. Meals on Wheels Orange County understands the value of social connection and interaction for older adults which is why they not only deliver programs that address hunger and nutrition, but also cater to the unique mental health needs of older adults by partnering with local senior centers to host social events like this one.
For 57 years, Meals on Wheels OC has been providing services and programs to reduce hunger and improve wellness for older adults in Orange County and is now carrying out their mission in Newport Beach to nourish the wellness, purpose and dignity of seniors and their families.
Serving 24 locations in 21 Orange County cities, Meals on Wheels services are available to senior residents in Newport Beach, including the lunch café in the OASIS Senior Center served each day, Monday through Friday from 11-12:30 p.m.
To learn more about Meals on Wheels’ offerings or to sign up for any of the programs, visit mealsonwheelsoc.org.
The nonprofit also provides social services including Adult Day Health Care, Case Management, Care Coordination, Friendly Visitors, and other programs designed to help older adults remain safe in their homes and the communities they love.
The Meals on Wheels and Lunch Café meal programs are funded in part through a grant from the California Department of Aging and administered by the Orange County Office on Aging.
