Meals on Wheels of Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky, a legacy service organization known for delivering meals to seniors, kicked off its capital fundraising campaign this week. The campaign aims to raise awareness about the organization’s work while diversifying its revenue sources in the face of increasing demand.
“You may or may not be aware, we are experiencing a crisis in aging,” said Meals on Wheels CEO Mike Dunn at the kickoff event Wednesday morning at their main office in Cincinnati. “Nearly one in four Americans is 60 years or older. In the next decade, for the first time in U.S. history, there will be more seniors than young people 18 and under.”
Dunn pulled from data from the Meals on Wheels national office (each branch of Meals on Wheels operates independently), which analyzed data on aging in America.
Using federal data sources, such as the U.S. Census Bureau and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the national office’s analysis suggested that just under 25% of the U.S. population is aged 60 and older. Ditto for Kentucky. They also predicted the number would increase in the coming years.
Although the organization is known for its food delivery services, it also provides other senior-focused services: independent living support, legal guardianship, senior social programs aimed at reducing isolation, wellness checks and transportation services. The branch serves eight counties in Kentucky and five counties in Ohio.
Given the country’s aging population, people will likely rely more on services from organizations like Meals on Wheels in the future. To that end, the organization is raising money for a new central office, the campaign for which has been dubbed “Driving into the Future.”
They’ve even located a building in Columbia Township, Ohio, the former site of the John Nolan Ford dealership. While the organization will continue operating its distribution centers in Boone County and Butler County, Ohio, the new facility will allow it to centralize much of its administration and operations.
“It’s a 51,500 square-foot facility with about seven and a half acres,” Dunn said. “To put that in context, that’s more than double [the current] facility. It will allow us to take our meal production from 1.2 million meals to 3 million meals, and it will also allow us to create social enterprise opportunities that we’re not able to do here. So, things like a private pay option for folks that don’t qualify for our services, as well as a wholesale option for other nonprofits.”
The organization has already gotten about $22 million in gifts and pledges for the campaign so far, Dunn said, leaving about $8 million left to reach their goal.
Other speakers at the event touted the significance of Meals on Wheels services. Denise Driehaus, the president of the Hamilton County Commission, not only gave a proclamation in honor of the kick-off but also described her family’s own experience with aging.
“Our mom fell about a month ago and broke her wrist,” Driehaus said. “She was unable to cook, she was unable to dress herself, she was unable to do so many things. Had it not been for all the siblings going, “‘OK, who’s got mom,’ right? And we all went over and slept over and the whole nine yards, she would have needed services of some sort. There’s no way she could have done that by herself. So, the touch point with Meals on Wheels is so important so that we can make sure that people like that, with varying needs in this community, can age in place with dignity and do what they want to do in their later years.”
One of the organization’s clients, Otis Miller, even spoke about his involvement with the program.
“I think it’s awesome,” Miller told LINK nky after his initial statement to the event attendees. “It is. I mean, they send you so much food, man; it’s one plate, two people.”
During his address to the event attendees, Miller did say he had one problem: “The juice boxes. They so good – two sucks, they gone.”
The crowd laughed, and Miller continued.
“I had another problem with the hamburgers,” Miller said. “They were so thin, like White Castle patties. Now, they are like Wendy’s patties. They give you a slice of cheese, instead of shredded cheese, so I’m grateful for that.”
Groundbreaking for the new facility is scheduled to take place this fall, with opening slated for late 2026.
You can learn more about the Driving Into the Future campaign, including how to donate, at muchmorethanameal.org/driving-into-the-future. You can also read Meals on Wheels’ analysis of the country’s aging population at mealsonwheelsamerica.org/learn-more/the-issue.