Much-Needed Funding Helps Keep Lehigh Valley Seniors and Their Pets Together
ALLENTOWN AND BETHLEHEM, JUNE 15, 2017 – Meals on Wheels of Lehigh County and Meals on Wheels of Northampton County are proud to announce that they have received a total of $3,000 in grant funding from Meals on Wheels America to support their local client pet support programs.
The pet support programs are free for current home-bound seniors and adults with disabilities who receive home-delivered meals. Through these programs, local Meals on Wheels organizations provide pet food and supplies for almost 400 dogs, cats and birds this year. Pet food is packaged and then delivered by volunteers during regularly scheduled meal deliveries.
Meals on Wheels started providing pet food and supplies to homebound clients when it learned that some seniors were sharing their delivered meals with their pets. These programs recognize the importance of pets to their home-bound owners’ health and well-being by providing nutritious pet food and needed supplies so that clients and their pet companions in the Lehigh Valley can continue living together at home for as long as possible.
In total, Meals on Wheels America has granted $300,000 to 193 local Meals on Wheels programs through the Meals on Wheels Loves Pets initiative this year. Funding is made possible in part through a donation from Banfield Charitable Trust. To date, the grant program has distributed more than $2.4 million in funding and pet food donations.
“While the benefits of companionship are clear, taking care of a pet can be financially and physically challenging for seniors,” said Meals on Wheels America President and CEO Ellie Hollander. “Meals on Wheels Loves Pets helps local Meals on Wheels providers alleviate this hardship and at the same time reduce the negative effects of isolation.”
About Meals on Wheels of Lehigh County:
Each weekday, Meals on Wheels of Lehigh County, a nonprofit agency, serves 450 homebound seniors and adults with disabilities living throughout Lehigh County. 848 individual and group volunteers deliver almost 167,000 meals each year; more than seven million since 1971. Volunteers also provide a social connection and a well-being check. The Agency also offers grocery shopping services to more than 150 clients. For more information, visit www.mealsonwheelslc.org.
About Meals on Wheels of Northampton County:
Meals on Wheels of Northampton County is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission for more than 45 years has been to support healthy living for home-bound seniors and adults with disabilities through the delivery of nutrition services. In 2017, we expect to prepare more than 565,000 hot and cold, medically tailored meals for our Northampton County clients and to those whom we serve throughout the Lehigh Valley through meal contracts. For more information, visit www.mealsonwheelspa.org.
About Meals on Wheels America:
Meals on Wheels America is the oldest and largest national organization supporting the more than 5,000 community-based programs across the country that are dedicated to addressing senior isolation and hunger. This network exists in virtually every community in America and, along with more than two million staff and volunteers, delivers the nutritious meals, friendly visits and safety checks that enable America’s seniors to live nourished lives with independence and dignity. By providing funding, leadership, education, research and advocacy support, Meals on Wheels America empowers its local member programs to strengthen their communities, one senior at a time. For more information, or to find a Meals on Wheels provider near you, visit www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org.
Information Provided By:
Michele Grasso
Director of Development and Communications
Meals on Wheels of Lehigh County
Tom Harper
Director of Development
Meals on Wheels of Northampton County
