A renowned national organization that assists seniors is celebrating 50 years of service in Butler this year. Those involved in Butler’s Meals on Wheels program should be proud of the hard work they have undertaken to help local seniors.

Last year, the nonprofit program served 22,755 hot meals and 10,525 sandwich meals to Butler residents. A total of 30 volunteers help cook and deliver meals on various routes throughout Butler and other surrounding areas five days per week. The group has more than 250 volunteers.

The number of clients served by the organization has gone down slightly in recent years. It served around 150 people 25 years ago, but now serves between 100 to 125 people annually, since other local organizations provide similar services.

But the program makes a world of difference to those who it serves. “They say, ‘You make my day,’” said volunteer Peggy Loomis of her clients. Loomis has provided hot meals to local seniors along the same route for all but one of the years that the program has been in existence.

While being provided with a hot, healthy meal is the most essential service of Meals on Wheels, the program does more than just drop off food to its clients. For seniors who are socially isolated, a visit from Meals on Wheels might be the only face time they have with another person during the course of their day.

According to a 2010 study by Brigham Young University, social isolation is as much of a health risk for seniors as smoking three-quarters of a pack of cigarettes per day. And a study by Knowledge Networks and Insight Policy Research found that 55 percent of older adults with poor health self-identified as lonely, while only 25 percent of older adults who are lonely were in very good health.

Plus, the organization has noted that its services often enable seniors to remain in their homes longer.

Loomis said her role with the program also involves checking on her clients’ well-being. If no one answers the door when she is there to drop off a meal, she takes extra steps. She recalled one scenario in which she went through a window to ensure that the client — who, it turns out, had gone to the hospital with his wife — was safe.

Later this year, Butler Meals on Wheels will hold a celebration to commemorate its half-century milestone. The group deserves a round of applause. It has provided both sustenance and substance to those it has served.