$1,200 Meals on Wheels grant will help Burnet County clients feed their pets as well
GEORGETOWN — Opportunities for Williamson & Burnet Counties’ Meals on Wheels has received a $1,200 grant from Meals on Wheels America to support its client pet support program. Funding will be used to provide food, supplies, and care for pets, which can often be a financial and physical challenge for clients to do so on their own.
“Having a loving companion in the home is vital to our clients’ emotional well-being, which is an important component of being able to age in place,” said Denise Schilli, Senior Nutrition Program director. “Meals on Wheels volunteers notice when seniors give food away to their animals, choosing to share vital nutrition rather than let their pets go hungry. The assistance from Meals on Wheels of America will help support animal-loving seniors with free pet food to go with their own hot lunch, so no one goes hungry.”
In total, Meals on Wheels America has granted more than $200,000 to nearly 100 local Meals on Wheels programs through the Meals on Wheels Loves Pets initiative this year. Funding is made possible in part through a donation from the former Banfield Charitable Trust. To date, the grant program has distributed more than $2.4 million in funding and pet food donations. In 2017, grants helped Meals on Wheels of Williamson & Burnet Counties assist 58 clients with their pet food needs.
“While pets are invaluable companions to homebound seniors, positively impacting their health and well-being, they can also be a challenge to care for alone,” said Meals on Wheels America President and CEO Ellie Hollander. “The Meals on Wheels Loves Pets program enables Meals on Wheels of Williamson & Burnet Counties to provide pet food and other necessary services to ease some of that burden and make it possible for local seniors and their beloved pets to stay together.”
For more information on Meals on Wheels of Williamson & Burnet Counties and other programs, go to owbc-tx.org.
For more about the national Meals on Wheels program or to find a Meals on Wheels provider near you, visit mealsonwheelsamerica.org.