NATCHEZ — The waiting list for the Meals on Wheels program is growing, and the Concordia Council on Aging is sponsoring an event to help raise the needed money to reach more senior citizens.

Director of Relations at Journey Hospice Julia Peterman said the state does not fully fund the Council on Aging’s Meals on Wheels program.

“I think that in this day and time, nobody should be turned away when it comes to food,” she said.

The waiting list at the Concordia Council on Aging has 35 names, Council Director Dorothy McDonald said.

“There are a lot of elderly people who are unable to cook, or who cannot get to the congregate sites,” she said. “They want to live at home instead of with family or in a nursing home.

“(The Meals on Wheels program) is so these elderly people can stay independent as long as possible.”

The council on aging will host Hot Dog for Senior Citizens from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 16.

The event will be at the council’s meeting site at 411 Texas St. in Vidalia.

“We will be providing a complementary hot dog lunch,” McDonald said. “We ask that if you would like to make a contribution, you could do so here.”