Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Oishei grant lifts Meals on Wheels & Strengthens Community Collaborations

Oishei grant lifts Meals on Wheels
from Business First of Buffalo - by Tracey Drury

A Meals on Wheels for WNY commissary project received a $1.2 million boost from the John R. Oishei Foundation.

The funds, a program related investment, are dedicated toward helping to fund the new commissary adjacent to the Meals on Wheels facility on James E. Casey Drive in Buffalo. The site will become the new meal preparation and distribution site for the agency.

Meals on Wheels annually provides more than 865,000 home-delivered meals to frail elderly and special needs individuals. The agency currently has a lease for commissary services at Sodexho’s East Ferry facility.

Benjamin Gair III, Meals on Wheels CEO, said the $7.5 million commissary is on target to open early this fall. Another $2 million remains to be raised to fully fund the project.

A capital campaign continues, led by the Meals on Wheels Foundation and chairman Wayne Hawk, a board member at the foundation and retired CEO of Moog.

The new site will also provide services to disaster victims and first responders through a partnership with the American Red Cross Greater Buffalo Chapter, the Food Bank of WNY, Erie County Department of Emergency Services and the city of Buffalo.

Click here for the full article from Business First of Buffalo

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