Meals on Wheels of Northwest Indiana (MOW) has received a helping hand to deliver nutritious meals to those in need.
Glick Philanthropies, an Indianapolis-based family of charitable initiatives, programs and organizations, has awarded MOW a Feeding Those in Need grant. Fifty-one organizations in nine states received grants.
The Feeding Those in Need program helps to provide meals and self-sufficiency skills to children, families and seniors in communities where Gene B. Glick Company properties are located. Funds will be used to deliver hot, nutritious meals at a reduced price to seniors who are most in need and have limited funds. MOW will focus on residents of the Hammond Elderly Apartments, a Glick Property, and the surrounding areas of Lake County.
“These funds help deliver so much more than a meal –a friendly visit with volunteers and daily wellness check gives people the power to maintain their health, independence, and happiness in their homes,” said Sandra Noe, Executive Director of Meals on Wheels.
The Feeding Those in Need program is part of a broader effort Glick Philanthropies is making to fight food insecurity. Glick Philanthropies has invested $4.2 million to date in organizations that work to address hunger and its root causes.
The 50 organizations selected for Feeding Those in Need grants were nominated by Gene B. Glick Company employees as the top local organization they believe make the biggest impact in addressing hunger and food security in the communities where they live and work.
“Glick Philanthropies is deeply committed to the issue of food insecurity because we view access to healthy, nutritious food as more than just a basic need, it’s also an integral part of the journey to self-sufficiency,” said David Barrett, vice chair, president and chief executive officer of the Glick Family Foundation. “Far too often, food insecurity arises for people as they struggle with competing needs, such as housing, utilities, transportation or medical care.”
One in six adults in Indiana struggles with nutrition. Those who receive Meals on Wheels have fewer falls, hospital stays, and emergency department visits, and lower medical spending. The wellness check helps seniors remain safely in their homes and can delay or eliminate the need for seniors living alone to move in with relatives, or enter assisted living or a long-term care facility. The cost of providing home-delivered meals daily for a year is far less than a single day of inpatient hospitalization.
“Feeding Those in Need is a gratifying program because we know the grants make a tangible difference in communities across the country,” Barrett said.
The Glick Fund at Central Indiana Community Foundation, one of the organizations that comprises Glick Philanthropies, administered this year’s Feeding Those in Need grants, which total $303,745. The program previously awarded $306,552 in grants in 2017 and $257,856 in 2016.