The Friends of Jackson Seniors has been awarded a $5,000 grant from the Jackson Community Foundation’s Unrestricted Community Needs Endowment Fund.
Diane Derby, Chair of the Friends of Jackson Seniors Board, said the grant will be used to help purchase a Meals on Wheels delivery van. The Meals on Wheels program for Jackson County delivers over 235,000 meals a year for 1,145 homebound older adults. Delivery vans are an important part of getting meals to seniors throughout Jackson County.
The Friends of Jackson Seniors supports services that are provided through the Jackson County Department on Aging, and the Meals on Wheels program is the largest program at the agency. For more information people are encouraged to go to the Friends website at www.MealsOnWheels-JacksonMI.com or contact Marce Wandell, Department on Aging Director, by phone at 768-8651 or by email at mwandell@co.jackson.mi.us.
The Friends of Jackson Seniors and Department on Aging shared comments from Meals on Wheels participants in a release. They include: “I haven’t eaten this well in years”, “These meals really help us a lot”, “I depend on the meals, they are good and fill me up!”, “Thank you for this service. It allowed me to stay home alone and eat well.” and “I especially like having my meals on wheels because they give me the portions of food I need in a most nutritionally balanced way which I am not able to do or afford on my own.”