The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Meals on Wheels got the news last week that they will receive a grant from Food Lion Charitable Foundation for $3,500.
This grant will be used to aid the over 150 disabled residents and senior citizens of Orange County this summer, particularly those who are unable to pay for the meals that will be delivered to their doors.
Executive Director of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Meals on Wheels, Stacey Yusko, says that summer is traditionally a slow time for the organization in terms of receiving donation and assistance, which prompted them to apply for the grant earlier this year.
“Food Lion Charitable Foundation is very generous, especially in this area,” says Yusko. “They provide financial support for any program or organization that feeds the hungry. So, we applied early in the spring and got the good news last week that we were awarded $3,500 from them. The best thing about that is that, when you just estimate food costs, that allows us to feed 700 people.”
Yusko also says that Food Lion has been reliable in their contributions to making the Meals on Wheels program in the area a success, by providing funding and resources at an affordable cost.
“This is actually the third time we have received funding from Food Lion,” says Yusko. “We have applied in the past, when we have run low on funds, and they have always been very responsive. As well, they work with us locally when we need to buy some supplies to try and give us something at a discounted rate. So, the Food Lion in this area has actually helped the Meals on Wheels program tremendously.”
With almost 40 years of providing meals for people across the community, Chapel Hill-Carrboro Meals on Wheels delivers thousands of meals each year. In 2013, they delivered over 33 thousand meals to citizens with the help of Food Lion’s Charitable Foundation, which began in 2001, and has since given over $9 million to organizations like Meals on Wheels to feed their respective communities.
