MOWSW Awarded Subaru 'Share the Love' Grant

Meals On Wheels of Stark & Wayne Counties has been awarded a $1,000 grant from Subaru of America, Inc. and the Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA) as part of Subaru's "Share the Love" campaign.

The grant will be used to work with area hospitals and health care facilities to provide complimentary meals to discharged patients who may need ongoing nutritional assistance.

"We are thankful that Subaru has once again chosen to give to Meals On Wheels," said Teresa Barry, CEO of Meals On Wheels of Stark & Wayne Counties and chairman of the Meals On Wheels Association of America. "Locally, we will be able to help more people live independently by providing home delivery of balanced, nutritious meals."

"Many of our Meals On Wheels programs across the country are struggling to provide meals in this down economy, "said Enid Borden, President and CEO of Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA). "We can't thank Subaru enough for understanding that their support will help us provide the next meal so no senior goes hungry."

Jail Garden Project Featured in 'Our Ohio' Magazine

The garden project at the Stark County Jail, which resulted in hundreds of pounds of produce being donated to Meals On Wheels of Stark and Wayne Counties, was featured in the December 2009 edition of Our Ohio magazine. The magazine is produced by the Ohio Farm Bureau and is the companion magazine to the "Our Ohio" television show, aired weekly on public television stations throughout the state.

Click on the images below for the article, or click here to read online.

See the video segment from the TV program here.

Thanks to Our Garden Partners

Meals On Wheels of Stark & Wayne Counties hosted a luncheon on Wednesday, Oct. 21, to thank the partnering organizations who made the garden project at the Stark County Jail a reality this past summer.

The garden, which was planted and cultivated by inmates at the jail, produced 60 pounds of tomatoes, 400 pounds of zucchini, 300 pounds of squash and 60 pounds of peppers, as well as a sampling of radishes. All of the produce was used in salads and other dishes that were incorporated into the agency's menu.

The group toured the agency's commissary before lunch was served in the conference room.

Attending were: Maureen Austin and Rudy Moyer of the Ohio State University Extension Office in Massillon; Nick Kennedy of the Stark County Farm Bureau; Mark Henderson, Mike McDonald, Darin Baad, Dennis Snyder and Laura Stewart-Johnson of the Stark County Sheriff's Office; Bill Lilley of the Akron Beacon Journal; and Teresa Barry, Nora Logsdon and Tom Delamater of Meals On Wheels of Stark & Wayne Counties.

Volunteer Bulletin - Hot Off the Press!

Issue Number 2 of our volunteer bulletin has been printed and is in the process of being distributed to our volunteers at all nutrition sites in Stark and Wayne Counties. The bulletin contains quick hits of useful information. This issue also introduces a new incentive program to encourage current volunteers to recruit additional volunteers to help us. Click on the image to see a larger version.

MOWSW at National Conference

Teresa Barry, CEO of Meals On Wheels of Stark & Wayne Counties, and Nora Logsdon, program manager and dietitian, attended the national conference of the Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA) Sept. 1 through 4 in San Diego, Calif. Terri (left), who is also the current chairman of MOWAA, spoke to the assembled group on a number of occasions and chaired a meeting of the board during the conference.

Teri is shown below with MOWAA President & CEO Enid Borden as they present new charter certificates to Darlene Ike of Meals On Wheels of Chemung County, N.Y. (left photo) and Arnetta Macklin of the Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association of Memphis, Tennessee (right photo).

Volunteers Step Up on United Way Day of Caring

Every year, the United Way of Stark County conducts the Day of Caring, through which volunteers from area companies help out at member agencies. This year, 91 volunteers from 11 area companies helped Meals On Wheels of Stark & Wayne Counties on Thursday, Sept. 17. This remarkable turnout enabled us to fill 47 routes from our nutrition sites in Stark County.

Volunteers from Combi Packaging in Canton, who helped prepare meals from our commissary and then went out on deliveries from our administrative office, are pictured here. In addition to Combi, other companies who assisted this year were: Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths & Dougherty; The Health Plan - Hometown Region; Atkinson Feucht Hare Funeral Home; Smith, Barta & Co.; J.C. Penney; Huntington Bank; Poly One; Grove Appliance; The Timken Company; and The Repository.

After the morning deliveries, most volunteers returned to our office building in Massillon for a lunch prepared by our commissary staff. We appreciate the assistance provided by all of the corporate volunteers who helped Meals On Wheels of Stark & Wayne Counties on the 2009 United Way Day of Caring.

New Dishwasher Is In!

Our new commercial dishwasher arrived last week and is now installed. The former unit had been in use for more than 12 years, two years longer than its expected operating life. With 2,000 meals being delivered daily from our administrative office and outlying sites, the dishwasher is critical to our operations. Thanks again to the Austin-Bailey Health & Wellness Foundation, The Timken Foundation and The Dominion Foundation for their support, which made the purchase of the new dishwasher possible.