Orangeburg is looking to get the new year off on the right foot -- or perhaps the left -- as the Orangeburg County Council on Aging will hold its sixth annual Elder Hop on Thursday, Jan. 1.

Sponsored by the Orangeburg County Council on Aging, Elder Hop serves as the OCCOA's anchor fund-raising event for its Meals on Wheels program in the midst of a two-month fund-raising campaign.

"This Meals on Wheels is probably one of the most important programs we have in keeping people in their homes," said Sheryl Jeffcoat, OCCOA executive director. "It helps to keep people in their homes and independent."

Earlier this year, OCCOA's fifth annual Meals on Wheels Elder Hop raised about $4,125.

The entire campaign raised $62,436. The amount raised has risen from the initial amount raised of $10,700 in 2003.

The goal for the 2009 year is $50,000. The fund-raising drive runs from December through February.

Elder Hop was held for the first time Jan. 1, 2003, in cooperation with the city of Orangeburg and the Downtown Orangeburg Revitalization Association.

Meals on Wheels is one of the council's in-home services; weekly or biweekly homemaker visits is the another.

About 2,200 to 2,400 meals are prepared each day by the Council on Aging staff and about 900 frozen meals are delivered to surrounding counties weekly.

The annual cost to feed an individual five days a week is $1,381 at $5.31 per meal.

Currently, the annual cost for the Meals on Wheels program is about $330,000, about half of the Council on Aging's budget.

Preparation for the meals begins each weekday at 4 a.m. Route volunteers then pick up the meals anytime between 6:45 a.m. and 9 a.m.

Jeffcoat praised the work of the volunteers and those who deliver the meals.

The OCCOA has about four paid workers and 28 volunteers delivering meals to home-bound elderly in the county.

About 179 meals are delivered to recipients in the Orangeburg area, 20 daily in Bowman, 44 in Branchville/Rowesville, 15 in Vance and 16 in Springfield. Meals consist of a meat, one to two vegetables, rice, potatoes, bread, fruit and dessert. Milk is also served with each meal.

As well as home-delivered meals, there are group dining sites where seniors can socialize and have a meal.

To qualify for Meals on Wheels home-delivery service, individuals must be home-bound with little or no family support and have health problems that prevent the person from cooking. If meals are supplied through funds from the council, individuals must be at least 60 years of age.

Founded in 1972, the private, non-profit Council of Aging was created to serve the elderly of the county.

The organization is contracted to receive funding through the Lower Savannah Council of Governments for not only home-delivered meals but also group dining meals and home living support service, plus funding from United Way, Orangeburg County Council, and a grant from the Orangeburg County Fine Arts Center.

T&D Staff Writer Gene Zaleski can be reached by e-mail at gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5551. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com

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