Area December 14, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 11 Community Meals, Inc. is currently celebrating 40 years of non-profit meal service. Since 1971, CMI has been delivering over 500 hot and cold nutritious meals each week to approximately 75 clients who cannot shop or cook for themselves. Over 50 volunteer drivers deliver 25,000 meals each year in the following Bergen County towns: Allendale, Glen Rock, Ho-Ho-Kus, Midland Park, Ridgewood, Waldwick, and Community Meals celebrates 40 years of service parts of Saddle River. Can you remember 1971? Forty years ago, we listened to our favorite albums on a record player. There were no DVDs. We had to go out to the movies. We had no Internet, no iPods, and no cell phones. Richard Nixon was our president. Barack Obama was still in grammar school. It certainly is a different world. Still, some things remain the same. There will always be homebound individuals who need help. For the past 40 years, Community Meals has continued to deliver nutritious and tasty meals to its clients in a service area that has grown to include seven Bergen County towns. CMI started out with just four clients, but today, volunteers deliver to about 75 people every through Friday. Clients are people who, due to illness, disability, or age are not able to shop or cook for themselves. One’s daily meal is a basic need, not a luxury. The poet, John Donne, said “No man is an island.” Community Meals responds to that need for basic sustenance and human connection. On some days, volunteer drivers may be the clients’ only visitors, so CMI also provides an informal “safety” check. As CMI celebrates its 40th Anniversary, its members acknowledge and thank the community that has supported the organization so generously. Valley Hospital has prepared CMI’s meals since 1974, and Christ Church in Ridgewood has been the organization’s home base since 1979. Many clients have financial hardships, and CMI grants them a subsidy; often these clients receive meals at no cost. The organization’s long-held goal is to (continued on page 27)