BJ’s Wholesale Club Partners with Meals on Wheels America

To help provide more meals to homebound seniors struggling with hunger and isolation, BJ’s Wholesale Club is supporting Meals on Wheels America. As the oldest and largest national organization supporting community-based senior nutrition programs across the country, Meals on Wheels America will receive a $100,000 BJ’s Charitable Foundation grant to commence this partnership. The funding will enable its members to increase the acquisition, storage and distribution of food that will result in over 525,000 more meals served to homebound seniors per year.

Today, one in six seniors in America might not know where their next meal is coming from due to factors such as declining mobility, geographic isolation and poverty. With the senior population set to double by 2050, the demand for the nutritious meals, friendly visits and safety checks that Meals on Wheels delivers will only increase.

“At BJ’s, we are dedicated to partnering with organizations like Meals on Wheels America that help make our communities stronger, safer and more self-sufficient,” said Laura Sen, CEO of BJ’s Wholesale Club. “With our long-standing commitment to help end hunger, this donation will not only provide more nutritious meals to seniors but also forge friendships to enhance their quality of life.”

BJ’s funding will be distributed to 16 local Meals on Wheels programs from across its footprint to enable them each to reach more seniors in need of this vital lifeline. Funding will be used to support capacity building projects such as refrigeration purchases and truck maintenance, volunteer training, technology upgrades, and for the purchase of food. Through this support, close to 1,900 more seniors will be served this year, more than 200 removed from a waiting list and an increase of more than 900 volunteers recruited.

Meals on Wheels America members in select markets were asked to submit a creative grant application to illustrate how they could use a $5,000 grant from BJ’s Charitable Foundation.  Based on the submissions received, the following 16 programs were chosen to receive valuable funding to help provide solutions and make sure seniors are not forgotten.

·         Broward Meals on Wheels, Plantation, FL

·         Chestnut Hill Meals on Wheels, Flourtown, PA

·         FeedMore – Meals On Wheels, Richmond, VA

·         IONA Senior Services, Washington, DC

·         KleinLife, Philadelphia, PA

·         Lake County Council on Aging, Mentor, OH

·         Meals On Wheels Atlanta, Atlanta, GA

·         Meals On Wheels of Chester County, Inc., West Chester, PA

·         Meals On Wheels of Coweta, Newnan, GA

·         Meals on Wheels of Stark & Wayne Counties, Massillon, OH

·         Minuteman Senior Services, Bedford, MA

·         Moveable Feast, Baltimore, MD

·         Open Hand, Atlanta, GA

·         Senior Services of Alexandria, Alexandria, VA

·         Springwell, Inc., Waltham, MA

·         Southeast Clergy Meals on Wheels, Bedford, OH

“The Meals on Wheels network is very fortunate to be partnering with the BJ’s Charitable Foundation to reach our shared goal of improving communities across the country,” said Ellie Hollander, President and CEO of Meals on Wheels America. “This generous support enables us to further our collective efforts to address three of the biggest threats of aging: hunger, isolation and loss of independence.”