Walmart Fights Senior Hunger
The Walmart Foundation made a $5 million grant to Meals On Wheels Association of America to help fight senior hunger in communities across the nation.
Through the grant, MOWAA will boost the efforts of senior nutrition programs, organizations that provide critical services to more than 6 million seniors in the United States. “We know that seniors are among those hardest hit by hunger in this country. Many are home-bound, and rely on neighbors and community volunteer programs like Meals On Wheels to help put food on the table,” said Margaret McKenna, Walmart Foundation president. “Through this $5 million grant, we hope to bring additional attention to senior hunger and help ensure our parents, grandparents and friends who have added so much to our lives have access to healthy and nutritious food.”
Part of Walmart’s $2 billion commitment to support hunger relief efforts through 2015, MOWAA will use the funding in several ways:
- Funding Walmart Foundation-MOWAA Building the Future Grants to help more than 100 local Meals On Wheels programs purchase stoves, refrigerators, trucks and other equipment needed in the fight to end senior hunger in local communities.
- Forming the Walmart Institute for Senior Nutrition Education, a new training initiative consisting of Senior Nutrition Certificate program training sessions and online resources for senior nutrition professionals and the general public.
- Creating the MOWAA State-Affiliate Training Wheels Program to help organize additional MOWAA-affiliated state associations.
“At Meals On Wheels, our goal is to deliver meals so that no senior goes hungry,” said Enid Borden, MOWAA president and CEO. “We are thankful to Walmart and appreciate their assistance as a long-standing partner in our efforts to reduce and ultimately end senior hunger in the U.S. With this grant and their continued support, we will be able to make a difference for the thousands of seniors in America who are going to bed hungry right now.”
Later this spring, the recipients of the Walmart Foundation-MOWAA Building the Future Grants will be announced. For more information, visit www.walmartfoundation.org or www.walmart.com/fightinghunger
The Meals On Wheels Association of America is the oldest and largest national organization in the United States representing those programs that provide meals to people in need.
The Walmart Foundation funds initiatives focused on education, workforce development, economic opportunity, environmental sustainability, and health and wellness. From Feb. 1, 2009, through Jan. 31, 2010, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation gave more than $512 million in cash and in-kind gifts globally, $467 million of which was donated in the United States.