THE NEXT
50 YEARS
Embracing and Honoring
Aging in Our Community
Party with a purpose
9.26.24
Embracing and Honoring
Aging in Our Community
Party with a purpose
9.26.24
We are Age Well – the leading experts and advocates for the aging population of Northwestern Vermont. We believe that health happens at home and focus on lifestyle, happiness and wellness—not on age.
Our mission is to provide the support and guidance that inspires our community to embrace aging with confidence.
We are the second or third oldest aging state in the whole country. So what is more important than providing these community services? I’ve never believed that aging necessarily can eliminate the ability to change a behavior, particularly if the outcome is a positive one.
One of my biggest motivators is to see clients get better from the things that we can provide them from the work that we do. How do we make sure that our clients with chronic health conditions can improve? How can we make their health outcomes better? We can do it through food.
So I’m very proud of the program that we have at Age Well. We are able to offer eight different therapeutic diets, accommodate food textures and food allergies. We oversee meals on wheels, community meals, congregate meals for older Vermonters in four counties, and wellness programing.
I’ve been receiving Meals on Wheels for about a year and it’s great food. When I was on my own, there were some days where I would just literally forget to have lunch, and some of that was because I had to make it. I think there’s also some anxiety that isn’t there anymore because you know you’re going to have at least something. And it’s tailored,
I’m diabetic. There’s a real effort to make sure that you get whatever you need. And it’s still tasty. And the people that deliver it are always wonderful. If I’m not there, sometimes I’m away walking the dogs or something like that, they’ll call and make sure I’m okay and come later to deliver it.
Our mission is to improve the quality of life of older Vermonters as they age. To provide healthy food, to provide registered dietitian counseling to the individuals that most need it, who are going to benefit the most by getting education and be able to make a difference in their health. When people start feeling better, feeling stronger, taking less medications, they’re going to stick with it.
The cost of one year of home delivered meals is the same as one day in hospital or ten days in a nursing home. For that person to be able to stay at home and live in the place they want to be most by simply receiving food that’s nourishing, to me, that is phenomenal.