CHARITY
Meals on Wheels launches fund drive
A special campaign to guarantee food deliveries to the elderly and disabled through Dec. 31 was launched Monday by Meals on Wheels. The goal: $67,500.
The agency said it budgeted for 840,000 meals this year, but Western New York’s economic troubles have raised projected demand to 865,000 meals. There also is a 12 percent increase in food costs to contend with, officials said.
Meal deliveries will stop about Dec. 20 unless money for the extra 25,000 meals is raised, said Benjamin A. Gair III, Meals on Wheels chief executive officer.
Providing two home-delivered meals a day to an individual costs $5.40 — or $40 a week. Nutrition programs that include daily checks on participants’ health and safety also will be curtailed without the extra funding, Gair said.
“We can’t deliver meals we are unable to pay for, and we don’t want anyone to go without this vital lifeline of food and friendship, particularly during the holiday season,” he said.
Attorney Richard A. Grimm III is chairman of the special fund drive.
Contributions can be sent to Meals on Wheels, 100 James E. Casey Drive, Buffalo, NY 14206. Call 882-2201, Ext. 27, for more information.
