INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The Senior Resource Association’s (SRA) Meal on Wheels program has been awarded $17,271 through a Walmart Foundation grant to the Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA).
This financial support is desperately needed as many Meals On Wheels programs across the country struggle with skyrocketing gasoline costs and rising food prices.
The Walmart Foundation-MOWAA “Building the Future” Impact Grant will provide SRA’s Meals on Wheels with much-needed kitchen and meal delivery equipment which is critical to continue serving homebound seniors in Indian River County.
“We are so grateful for the Walmart Foundation-MOWAA Building the Future Impact Grant,” states Karen Deigl, President/CEO of the Senior Resource Association. “This grant allows us to purchase items that we have needed for a long time to serve more of our community’s homebound seniors more efficiently and effectively.”
The Walmart Foundation recently announced a $5 million donation to MOWAA as part of a $2 billion commitment to support hunger relief efforts through 2015. Part of that $5 million donation will fund the “Building the Future” Impact Grants.
The grants will help more than 100 local Meals On Wheels programs purchase stoves, refrigerators, trucks and other equipment needed in the fight to end senior hunger.
The Walmart Foundation first became a partner of Meals On Wheels in 2008. A donation of $750,000 to MOWAA helped 80 struggling Member programs restore meal services that had been reduced or were facing cuts.
In late 2009, the Foundation donated an additional $2.2 million to MOWAA that helped 147 Member programs expand their meal services with new equipment.
“We know that seniors are among those hardest hit by hunger in this country. Many are home-bound, and rely on neighbors and community volunteer programs like Meals On Wheels to help put food on the table,” said Margaret McKenna, president of the Walmart Foundation. “Through this $5 million grant, we hope to bring additional attention to senior hunger and help ensure our parents, grandparents and friends who have added so much to our lives have access to healthy and nutritious food.”
“The Walmart Foundation continues to step up to the plate in the fight against senior hunger,” said Enid Borden, President and CEO of MOWAA. “They understand that joining Meals On Wheels in this battle is a moral imperative. The Walmart Foundation’s generous support helps ensure our programs sustain meal services well into the future. We can’t thank the Walmart Foundation enough for being such a powerful partner in our mission to end senior hunger in America by the year 2020.”
Research sponsored by MOWAA reveals that more than six million seniors in America face the threat of hunger. The Walmart Foundation-MOWAA “Building the Future” Impact Grant program is intended to help combat the problem of senior hunger.
The Senior Resource Association (SRA) provides many services benefiting older adults in Indian River County, including Nutrition programs. SRA’s Nutrition programs include: Meals on Wheels, Social Congregate Meals, Emergency Meals on Wheels, Pet Meals on Wheels, Grocery Shopping, Nutrition Education and Counseling.
To learn more about the SRA’s Nutrition programs and other services, call (772) 794-1142.
To learn more about the Walmart Foundation, visit www.walmartfoundation.org.