Fun, and good for you, too - SouthCoastToday.com

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Fun, and good for you, too - SouthCoastToday.com Mar 25th 2012, 04:26 Buy This Photo David W. Oliveira/Standard-Times special Brandon Walecka, Joelle Mendes, Jillian Benton and Ashley Lindsey move around Fort Tabor Park at the first annual Fun Walk and Wellness Fair to benefit Coastline Elderly Services Saturday.David W. Oliveira By DON CUDDY March 25, 2012 12:00 AM NEW BEDFORD— Coastline Elderly Services held its first Fun Walk and Wellness Fair at Fort Taber on Saturday. The community event was organized in response to fears that nutrition programs for the elderly will face deep cuts statewide, according to Jeannine Wilson who serves on Coastline's board of directors and is chair of the development committee. "The governor's budget is proposing cuts up to $1.5 million. That's a lot of meals for the elderly," she said. "We are doing this to raise funds for our program so that no elder in our community has to go hungry." Around 70 people registered for the event at the community center and enjoyed walking at their own pace on the scenic paths surrounding the fort. For the $20 registration fee walkers received a t-shirt and, after their exertions, were offered free samples of nutritious food from local eateries, including Destination Soups, the Center Cafe on Brock Ave. and the Healthy Grille in Dartmouth. The organization plans to make the walk an annual event. Devin Byrnes of Destination Soups said he was glad to help out. "It's a great cause. When my father had a knee replacement he relied on Meals on Wheels and my grandmother relied on it the last years of her life, so I was right behind this," he said. His healthful dishes included gazpacho, tossed salad and what else but chicken soup. In keeping with the wellness theme, there were also blood pressure screenings and classes in zumba and yoga. Yoga instructor Pam Teves, who will teach outdoor classes at the fort starting on June 5, led the Saturday class. "It was fun and very positive," she said. "We did a couple of sun salutations (yoga poses) and it was nice seeing all the people here. It's a beautiful location." Organizers said they were happy with the turnout and the support from the community, but remained concerned about possible cuts. "For a lot of the elderly this is the only meal they get. It also provides a safety check and socialization for many of them," said Terry Johnson, Coastline's chief operating officer. "Right now we feed about 1,100 a day and we know for some of them, it's the only hot meal they get. We could lose about 25 percent of our funding if they cut the $1.5 million." Reader Reaction We reserve the right to remove any content at any time from this Community, including without limitation if it violates the Community Rules. We ask that you report content that you in good faith believe violates the above rules by clicking the Flag link next to the offending comment or fill out this form. New comments are only accepted for two weeks from the date of publication. Not sure how to add your comment? Here's how This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.

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