Food for ThoughtFALL 2017 NEWSLETTER

A Message from our President and CEOI’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate my colleague and friend Tara A. Ellis on her new position as President and CEO with the Food Bank of WNY. Her passion for eradicating hunger and her skills, experience and empathy make her a natural choice to lead this crucial community organization.

I’m honored and excited that the boards have selected me as interim President and CEO of Meals on Wheels for WNY and the Meals on Wheels Foundation of WNY. After forty years of management and operations experience with traditional businesses, I’ve enjoyed the last five years on the not-for-profit side, first volunteering with and then joining the organization before taking the role of Chief Operations Officer.

The mission of Meals on Wheels is absolutely crucial to the community and I am proud and humbled to be able to lead the team in providing food and friendship to our vulnerable neighbors. The impact that we have on the community in terms of providing healthy meals, friendship, well-being checks and more cannot be understated. I’m excited about our future plans – such as the introduction of made-without-gluten meals, allergy-free diets, and the potential expansion of our commissary.

I’m also looking forward to exploring additional ways that we can collaborate with other organizations. Already we partner with Goodwill of WNY to get needed household supplies to vulnerable clients, with the Food Bank of WNY to get grocery staples to new clients in acute need, and we prepare meals for organizations such as the Buffalo City Mission. When we look at the problems of hunger, poverty and isolation from a community-wide lens what other opportunities to make a difference might we find?

We will continue to keep you updated on our plans as we grow, develop and look for additional ways to serve homebound older adults and disabled individuals. Thank you for your continued support of the important work that Meals on Wheels does. I look forward to working with you and to meeting many of you in the coming months.

Chris Procknal – President and CEOMeals on Wheels for WNY

Walmart and Subaru:Walmart recently donated $151,000 to the Meals on Wheels Foundation of WNY (MOW) through their Walmart State Giving Program. The grant will provide four new combi ovens for the commissary, which are vital equipment used in the preparation of 90% of our daily meals. Combi ovens are called such because they can be used in food preparation to heat, steam, or do a combination of both.

These ovens are crucial for our production of nearly 1.5 million meals over the course of a year, including our home-delivered meals, congregate meals, and the meals we produce for other not-for-profits and health-related organizations throughout New York and into Pennsylvania.

“We are so grateful to the Walmart organization for their continued support and generous donation. The ability to purchase this equipment gives us the opportunity to provide higher quality of life to all of our recipients. Thank you to Walmart for helping us provide food, friendship and hope,” Chris Procknal, Interim President and CEO, MOW, said.

Share the LoveSubaru of America (SOA) and West Herr Subaru are other key partners exhibiting long-term support of MOW. For its tenth year in a row, Subaru of America is holding their popular “Share the Love” event in which SOA donates $250 for every new Subaru that is

purchased or leased to a charity of the buyer’s choice. Charities include several national charities as well as a local charity. For the fifth year in a row, West Herr Subaru has selected the Meals on Wheels Foundation of WNY as their local charity of choice.

Over the past four years, MOW has received $183,142 total from this campaign. We are so grateful to Subaru of America and West Herr Subaru for their support.

The fundraiser is going on now and ends on January 2. If you are in the market for a new vehicle, please visit West Herr Subaru and Share the Love with MOW!

K E Y PA R T N E R S I N F E E D I N G W N Y S E N I O R S

The Meals on Wheels Foundation of WNY received a check from the

Walmart Foundation with the support of many of our elected officials.

Volunteering Together: Team Building, Community BuildingMeals on Wheels for Western New York produces and delivers meals to more than 3,400 homebound clients. This enormous undertaking is made possible by the caring and generous individuals and groups who commit their time and energy to our neighbors in need.

Many people think, “I would love to help, but there’s not enough time in the day!” The great thing is, meal delivery only takes about an hour, and you can volunteer as little or as often as you’d like. Still, for someone who works a typical 9-to-5 job, this may seem impossible.

However, close to 100 local organizations make it possible for their employees to take part in giving back to the community during their workday, on their lunch hour. These organizations are our Adopt-A-Route partners who have a team of employees assigned to a particular delivery route close to their office.

Matt McAfee, M&T Bank, explains, “From my experience, the simple act of delivering meals to clients provides not only needed nutrition and a well visit for the clients, but inspires volunteers to find other ways to make our community a better place to live. A nice side benefit of the Adopt-A-Route program is that it affords work colleagues who wouldn’t otherwise have reason to interact, an hour together to become better acquainted. The employee networking via the Adopt-A-Route program creates a greater sense of community within our firm and helps fulfill one of our bank’s core missions, to be part of the fabric of the communities we serve.”

A common concern for someone who is interested in coordinating an Adopt-A-Route partnership within his or her organization may be participation. However, in Matt’s experience this is not an issue. “What started as about a dozen or so employees participating three years ago, has grown to more than 40 of my bank colleagues who selflessly volunteer an occasional lunch hour to serve our elderly and homebound neighbors.”

Another of our Adopt-A-Route partners, Rich Products Corporation, will be celebrating twenty-five years of service with MOW in 2018. Linda Velarde, Foodservice Division Marketing, is Rich’s Meals on Wheels coordinator, and has planned their delivery schedule for 12 years. “My job is easy because we have some team members who have been delivering MOW for more than 15 years. Year after year, the same

teams come back, leaving me with very few new members to recruit. We have 51 dedicated team members. It’s a testimonial to the fact that this is truly a very rewarding experience!”

Whether an organization is large or small does not affect the impact they can have on the homebound elderly in our community. Walsh Duffield Companies has been participating in Adopt-a-Route for nearly five years. “Our eight volunteers look forward to their turn to deliver each month and see the friends they’ve made over the years. The comradery amongst our volunteers is evident. Each week, I hear them asking each other how ‘their people’ were this week. Our company most certainly gets more out of this experience than we put in,” Stephen E. Mayo, Vice President, Walsh Duffield Companies, Inc., said.

If you’d like to learn more about getting your group involved in our Adopt-A-Route program, we’d love to talk with you! Start the conversation with Ashley Yerdon, Volunteer Relations Associate, by calling 822.2002 x21 or emailing ayerdon@mealsonwheelswny.org.

Thank you to these and the dozens of other organizations that Adopt-A-Route with MOW!90875_Fuel_MealsonWheels_PrintAd / 8.5” x 3.66” / 4c / no bleed / 300 dpi

HEAPhelps.com

HE AP

HEAP can help heat your home.Nate, Consumer Business Manager | Buff alo, NY

The Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) is a federally-funded program that provides assistance to eligible households by helping to pay a portion of their annual heating costs. National Fuel is here to help customers take advantage of this benefi t. Visit us online or call 1-877-443-2743 to see if you qualify to apply for these limited funds.

HE AP

HEAP can help heat your home.Nate,

90875_Fuel_MealsonWheels_PrintAd.indd 1 11/13/17 4:22 PM

The delivery team from Walsh Duffield Companies.

www.mealsonwheelswny.org

Plate Expectations 2017“ R O C K I N G A N D R O L L I N G AT T H E R I C H A R D S O N ”

Plan now for a gift that is meaningful today, tomorrow, and for years to come…

Tribute gifts are a meaningful way to honor or remember a friend or loved one while giving back to Meals on Wheels and benefitting the lives of our homebound neighbors.

“How completely comforting to imagine that hungry people will be

assisted because of choices I am making now.”

Consider this method of giving when setting up your own future plans. Directing gifts made in your memory to the Meals on Wheels Foundation of Western New York, through a provision in your will

or estate plans, in lieu of flowers, provides for the future of Meals on Wheels to ensure that every member of our

community will receive a meal that meets their nutritional needs and receive unsurpassed care provided by our staff and volunteers.

“Over the years I have devoted many hours to delivering meals and

I wanted to be able to continue to support this program past my

lifetime.”

To learn more about Meals on Wheels’ Planned Giving programs or to make a gift, please contact Kelly Campbell at

(716) 822-2201 ext. 43 or kcampbell@mealsonwheelswny.org.

Our annual fundraiser was held at Hotel Henry on August 30, 2017. We sold out the event, with 600 plus attendees. Partygoers were excited to check out the recently opened historic architectural treasure and support Meals on Wheels.

Guests enjoyed food and drink; live music by Hot Club of Buffalo, 007 Band and Saxman Slim; our balloon pop and wall of wine games; a silent and “super silent” auctions; tours of the architectural treasure; and meeting Chef Fabio Viviani from Bravo’s Top Chef All Stars!

Thanks to the all of our attendees, volunteers, boards, and staff, 2017 was a record-breaking year, netting more than $117,660 raised!

Volunteer Elizabeth sells the popular balloons to guests.Chef Fabio Viviani, sponsored by Bateman

Community Living, cooks up delicious meatballs.

W I N T E R W E AT H E R ?Employees and volunteers work hard to deliver meals to our clients, even when the weather is frightful.

However, there are occasionally times when delivery is simply not possible.

If MOW is closed and no meals will be delivered, the closing will be listed on Channel 2, 4, 7 and Spectrum News, as well as on the radio at AM-970.

If a specific site location is closed, clients will receive a phone call from one of our Social Workers.

Food for Thought

100 James E. Casey Drive, Buffalo, NY 14206(716) 822-2201www.mealsonwheelswny.org

NON-PROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDBUFFALO, NY

PERMIT NO. 368

The essential work done by Meals on Wheels for Western New York is made possible by generous financial support from community members, local foundations and corporations, as well as through grants from the New York State Office for the Aging and Erie County’s Departments of Senior Services and Social Services.

Recent Sponsors & SupportersMeals on Wheels Foundation of Western New York would like to thank the following

individuals and organizations for their recent donations and generous support.

Alliant Capital Management, LLC

Bateman Community Living

Business First of Buffalo

David Collins Productions

Cumulus Radio

Curbell, Inc.

Dr. and Mrs. George DeTitta

Timothy G. DeZastro, M.D.

Mr. William Downey

Ms. Tara. A. Ellis

Mr. Peter Fowler

Freed Maxick CPA’s P.C.

GMR of WNY, Inc.

Grover Cleveland Press

Mr. and Mrs. William H. Gurney, IV

Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Hardy

Hodgson Russ, LLP

Hooper Family Foundation

Hospice Association of WNY

Huntington Debt Holdings, LLC

JCI Catering

Josephine Goodyear Foundation

Mr. Thomas Kucharski

Lake Shore Savings CRA

Ms. Lynda Large

Lions Club of Buffalo

The M&T Charitable Foundation

M.A. Laurie Jewelers

Frank J. McGuire Family Foundation

Meals on Wheels America

The Mentholatum Company

Midwood Financial Services

National Fuel Gas Company

National Grid

Niagara Frontier Automobile Dealers Association

Northstar Location Services, LLC

The John R. Oishei Foundation

Osteria 166

Perry’s Ice Cream Company Inc.

Mrs. G. Evaline Schaal

Tops Markets, Inc.

Walmart Foundation

Wegmans Food Markets, Inc.