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Buffalo Sabres Alums delivered hot meals to elderly & sick

Posted at 7:01 PM, Mar 20, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-20 19:02:00-04

Two Buffalo Sabres Alums, Darryl Shannon and Derek Smith delivered a car load of hot meals to the sick and elderly in South Buffalo.

It was part of Meals on Wheels for Western New York's annual "Champions for Meals" event. It gives clients a chance to meet local celebrities and government officials.

"You get a pretty neat feeling when you meet a lot of these people. You find a lot of new friends and you can tell you're really helping them," Smith said.

Mrs. Ruth was one of the clients receiving a chicken parmesan meal. She was once on the giving end, as an employee and volunteer. She's now retired and a supporter of President Donald Trump. However, she's now concerned about possible cuts to federal grants that states use to fund Meals on Wheels. Mrs. Ruth had a message for the president.

"Please think of the lower income people, not always the rich," Mrs. Ruth said.

Meals on Wheels serves more than 900,000 hot dinners to homebound Erie County residents every year. That's not including the 250,000 meals to seniors who are mobile enough to get to feeding sites.

Meals on Wheels receives funding from a variety of sources. A big portion comes from federal government funds trickled down to the states. Representatives of the program are pushing congress to keep that funding in place, and they're asking the community to volunteer and donate.