Fort Bend Seniors Meals on Wheels, headquartered in Rosenberg, has been awarded $15,000 through the Wal-mart Foundation’s grant to the Meals On Wheels Association of America. The money will provide a HotShot delivery truck which is able to hold up to 200 meals.
With the heating and cooling elements on the truck, the meals will be kept at the required temperature allowing the truck to stay on the road longer and provide meals to more senior citizens.
This financial support is desperately needed as many Meals On Wheels programs across the country are struggling to survive during this economic downturn, according to representatives. The “Wal-mart Foundation Impact Grant” is intended to help Fort Bend Seniors Meals on Wheels continue to meet the long term equipment needs for providing meals to seniors in Fort Bend County.
Last year, many Meals On Wheels programs were forced to change or reduce their services, but the Wal-mart Foundation stepped in to help restore those meals. This year, the Wal-mart Foundation is spending more than $2 million nationwide to make sure Meals On Wheels programs have the equipment they need to maintain their operations into the future.
“Seniors have been hit especially hard in this economy and we feel a responsibility to help,” said Margaret McKenna, president of the Wal-mart Foundation. “We’re proud to support Meals on Wheels programs across the U.S. who work on the front lines of ending senior hunger.”
“We are very grateful to the Wal-mart Foundation Impact Grant, for we will have a better way to transport meals to shut-in seniors. This truck will allow us to continue providing meals to seniors for years to come,” said Manuela H. Arroyos, CEO, Fort Bend Seniors Meals on Wheels said. ”This grant will help us provide the next meal to many of our clients in need and will truly make a difference for the seniors in our communities.
“The Wal-mart Foundation has once again stepped up to the plate as a powerful partner in the fight to end senior hunger,” said Enid Borden, president and CEO of MOWAA. “They are our largest corporate partner to date and their support will make a tremendous impact in helping our programs sustain meal services well into the future. We can’t thank the Wal-mart Foundation enough for joining us in our national movement to end senior hunger in America by 2020.”
